IQ.  917. 7333 

H29b 

1927 


Black  Hawk 
Watch 

Tower^ 


KDNOIS  HISTORICAl  SURVEY 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2012  with  funding  from 

University  of  Illinois  Urbana-Champaign 


http://archive.org/details/blackhawkwatchtoOOhaub 


The  Black  Hawk 
Watch  Tower 


In  th< 


County  of  Rock  Island 


State  of  Illinois 


By 
John  H.  Hauberg 


BLACK  HAWK'S  WATCH  TOWER 
A  Short  Presentation  of  Its  History  and  Scenic  Interest 

JOHN  H.  HAUBERG 

Printed  by  Driffill  Printing  Co.,  1927 


P  a  g  i>    T  M  r  e  e 


a 

H  - 

I 


+~ 


Black    Hawks    Watch    Tower 


View   down    Rock   river   from   Black   Hawk's   Watch    Tower — The   bluffs   at    the    west   side   of   the 
Mississippi  are  dimly  visible  to  the  right 


"This  Tower,  to  which  my  name  has  been  applied,  was  a  favorite  resort, 
and  was  frequently  visited  6p  me  alone,  when  I  could  sit  and  smoke  my  pipe 
and  look  with  wonder  and  pleasure  at  the  grand  scenes  that  were  presented  hy 
the  sun's  rays,  even  across  the  mighty  water. " 

—  {Black  Hawk  in  his  Autobiography,  page  70. 


Black   Hawk's   Watch    Tower 


Pane     Four 


Black  Hawk's  Watch  Tower  from  the  Bridge,  showing  the  Inn  at  the  top 


Black  Hawk's  Watch  Tower 


Black  Hawk's  village  in  1817,  as  described 
by  Major  Long: 

"On  Rock  river,  two  miles  above  its  mouth, 
and  three  miles  across  the  point  from  Fort  Arm- 
strong is  a  Sack  village,  consisting  of  about 
one  hundred  cabins,  of  two,  three  and,  in  some 
instances,  four  fires  each.  It  is  by  far  the  larg- 
est Indian  village  situated  in  the  neighborhood 
of  the  Mississippi  between  St.  Louis  and  the 
Falls  of  St.  Anthony.  The  whole  number  of 
Indians  at  this  village  amounts  probably  to  be- 


tween two  and  three  thousand.  They  can  fur- 
nish eight  or  nine  hundred  warriors,  all  of  them 
armed  with  rifles  or  fusees. 

"The  Indians  of  these  two  villages  (one  the 
Fox  village,  immediately  opposite  to  Fort  Arm- 
strong on  the  south  side  of  the  Mississippi) 
cultivate  vast  fields  of  corn,"  etc. 


From  the  diary  of  Maj.  Stephen  H.  Long  (later  of  Long's 
Peak,  Colo.,  fame),  Topographical  Engineer,  U.  S.  Army, 
dated  August  1,  1817,  as  published  in  Vol.  2,  Minn.  Hist. 
Soc.  Collections,  page  68. 


I*  B  g  c     F  i  v  <> 


Black    Hawk's    Watch    Tower 


.Sauk  and   Fox   Indians  at   the   Watch   Tower,   with  the   Great-grandson    of    IMack    Hawk,    Jesse    Ka-Ka-Que,    at    their    head 


A  1773  Description  of  the  Sauk  Indians 

By  Peter  Pond,   Wis.   Hist.   Colls.,  XVIII..   p.  335 


"These  People  are  Cald  Saukeas.  They  are 
of  a  Good  Sise  and  Well  Disposed — Les  In- 
clind  to  tricks  and  Bad  manners  than  thare 
Nighbers.  Thay  will  take  of  the  Traders  Goods 
on  Creadit  in  the  fall  for  thare  youse.  In  Win- 
ter and  Except  for  Axedant  thay  Pay  the 
Deapt  Verey  Well  for  Indians  I  mite  have  sade 
Inlitend  or  Sivelised  Indans  which  are  in  Gen- 
eral made  worse  by  the  Operation. 
Sum  of  thare  Huts  are  Sixtey  feet  long  and 
Contanes  Several  fammalayes.  ...  In  the 
fall   of  ye   Year   thay   Leave   thare   Huts   and 


Go  into  the  Woods  in  Quest  of  Game  and  Re- 
turn in  the  Spring  to  thare  Huts  before  Plant- 
ing time.  The  Women  Rase  Grate  Crops  of 
Corn,  Been,  Punkens,  Potatoes,  Millans  and 
artikels — the  Land  is  Exaleant — and  Clear  of 
Wood  Sum  Distans  from  the  Villeag.  Thare 
(are)  Sum  Hundred  of  Inhabitants.  Thare 
amusements  are  Singing,  Dancing,  Smokeing, 
Matcheis,  Gaming,  Feasting,  Drinking,  Play- 
ing the  Slite  of  Hand,  Hunting,  and  thay  are 
famas  in  Mageack." 


Black    Hawks    Watch    Tower 


Page     Six 


Black  Hawk's  Village   Site 


Black  Hawk's  Village  Site 


"Our  village  was  situated,  on  the  north  side 
of  Rock  river,  at  the  foot  of  the  rapids,  on  the 
point  of  land  between  Rock  river  and  the  Mis- 
sissippi. In  front,  a  prairie  extended  to  the 
Mississippi,  and  in  the  rear  a  continued  bluff 
gently  ascended  from  the  prairie. 

"On  its  highest  peak  our  Watch  Tower  was 
situated,  from  which  we  had  a  fine  view  for 
many  miles  up  and  down  Rock  river  and  in 
every  direction.  On  the  side  of  this  bluff  we 
had  our  corn  fields,  extending  about  two  miles 
up  parallel  with  the  large  river,  where  they 
adjoined  those  of  the  Foxes,  whose  village 
was  on  the  same  stream,  opposite  the  lower 
end  of  Rock  Island,  and  three  miles  distant 
from  ours.  We  had  eight  hundred  acres  in 
cultivation,  including  what  we  had  on  the 
islands  in   Rock  river.    The  land  around  our 


village  which  remained  unbroken  was  covered 
with  blue  grass,  which  furnished  excellent  pas- 
ture for  our  horses.  Several  fine  springs 
poured  out  of  the  bluffs  near  by,  from  which 
we  were  well  supplied  with  good  water.  The 
rapids  of  Rock  river  furnished  us  with  an 
abundance  of  excellent  fish,  and  the  land  be- 
ing very  fertile,  never  failed  to  produce  good 
crops  of  corn,  beans,  pumpkins  and  squashes. 
We  always  had  plenty;  our  children  never 
cried  from  hunger,  neither  were  our  people  in 
want.  Here  our  village  had  stood  for  more 
than  a  hundred  years,  during  all  of  which  time 
we  were  the  undisputed  possessors  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi valley,  from  the  Wisconsin  to  the  Port- 
age des  Sioux,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Missouri, 
being  about  seven  hundred  miles  in  length." — 
Black  Hawks  Autobiography,  p.  62. 


P  a  K  <■     S  e  v  c  11 


Black    Hawk's    Watch    Tower 


An 


ndian  Cornfield  near   Watch  Tower  grounds,  taken   l!)l(i — This   ground  has  never  been  cultivated 
by  the   white  man  and   in  Just  as  the  squaws   left   it   in   1831 


Sauk  and  Fox  Indians'  Means  of  Sustenance 


"In  the  winter  of  1819-20.  these  two  na- 
tions (the  Sauk  and  Fox)  had  five  traders, 
who  employed  nine  clerks  and  interpreters, 
with  annual  salaries  of  from  two  to  twelve 
hundred  dollars  each  (the  average  being  about 
four  hundred  dollars),  and  forty-three  labor- 
ers, whose  pay  was  from  one  hundred  to  two 
hundred  dollars  each  per  annum.  These  trad- 
ers, including  the  peltries  received  at  the  Unit- 
ed States  factory  near  Fort  Edwards,  collected 
of  the  Sauk  and  Fox  Indians  during  this  sea- 
son nine  hundred  and  eighty  packs. 
They  consisted  of: 

2,760  Beaver  skins  500  Mink 

922   Otter  200  Wildcat 

13,440   Raccoon  680   Bearskins 

1  2,900  Musk  rat  28,680   Deer 

Whole  number,  60,082. 
The  estimated  value  of  which  was  fifty-eight 
thousand  and  eight  hundred  dollars. 


"The  quantity  of  tallow,  presumed  to  be 
collected  from  the  deer,  was  two  hundred  and 
eighty-six  thousand,  eight  hundred  pounds. 
The  traders  also  collected,  during  the  same 
time,  from  these  Indians  at  least  three  thou- 
sand pounds  of  feathers  and  one  thousand 
pounds  of  bees-wax.  From  their  fields,  cov- 
ering 800  acres,  they  produced  more  than  was 
necessary  for  their  sustenance,  so  that  about 
one  thousand  bushels  of  corn  is  annually  sold 
to  traders  and  others. 

"The  women  usually  make  about  three  hun- 
dred floor  mats  every  summer.  These  mats 
are  as  handsome  and  durable  as  those  made 
abroad.  *  *  *  From  four  to  five  hundred 
thousand  weight  of  mineral  (lead)  is  dug  dur- 
ing the  season  by  those  of  the  able-bodied  men 
who  do  not  go  out  to  hunt." 

— pp.  1  26  and  1  27,  Morses  Report. 
From  data  supplied  by  Major  Marston,  Commandant  at 
Fort  Armstrong,  to  Jedidiah  Morse,  November,  1820. 


Black    Hawk's    Watch    Tower 


Page     Eight 


At  the  Watch  Tower — To  Boys  and  Girls  it  is  still  Good  Indian   Country 


The  Watch  Tower  in  General  American  History 


As  the  French  and  Indian  war  drew  to  a 
close,  the  last  of  the  French  soldiers  of  the 
northwest,  1 32  in  number,  spent  the  winter 
of  1760-1761   here,  ice  bound,  on  their  retreat 

from  Michilimacinac  to  Fort  Chartres,  Illinois. 

(pp.  437-8  Ft.  Regime,  Wis.  &  NW,  Kellogg.) 

During  the  Revolutionary  war  it  was  the 
scene  of  military  activities  of  both  the  British 
and  the  American  forces,  as  told  in  succeeding 
pages  of  this  book. 

The  War  of  1812-1814  saw  more  American 
casualties  in  battle  in  this  vicinity,  at  the  hands 


of  Black  Hawk  and  his  braves,  than  took  place 
within  the  borders  of  all  the  New  England 
States  combined  in  that  war. 

The  Black  Hawk  war,  1831-1832  was 
fought  for  possession  of  these  very  grounds, 
of  which  the  Watch  Tower  was  the  dominant 
feature.  It  was  the  last  Indian  war  of  the  old 
northwest  territory.  The  American  casualties 
were  about  1 50  killed  and  250  deaths  from 
sickness.  Black  Hawk's  "British  band,"  as  his 
followers  were  called,  about  1 ,000  in  number, 
had  only  about  1  50  left  to  tell  the  tale. 


V  :i  z  «'    N  i  n  e 


Black    Hawk's    Watch    Tower 


At   Black   Hawk's   Watch   Tower 


The  Watch  Tower  Four  Times  a  Target 


On  four  separate  occasions  the  Watch 
Tower  saw  the  approach  of  armies  of  the  white 
man  coming  to  destroy  the  village  or  to  battle 
with  its  inhabitants,  as  follows: 

( 1  )  In  May,  1  780,  one  of  the  campaigns 
of  the  Revolutionary  war,  when  Col.  John 
Montgomery  came  with  a  force  of  350  men 
and  burned  the  village. 

(2)  September,  1814,  an  expedition  in  the 
War  of  1812-1814  under  command  of  Maj. 
Zachary  Taylor,  who  was  sent  to  burn  the 
village  and  destroy  the  growing  crops.  Tay- 
lor was  defeated  by  Black  Hawk,  with  the  as- 


sistance of  numerous  Indian  allies  and  a  Brit- 
ish battery. 

(3)  June,  1831,  when  1,600  Illinois  volun- 
teers under  command  of  Brig.  Gen.  Joseph 
Duncan  burned  the  village. 

(4)  When  1 ,800  Illinois  volunteers  marched 
here  in  1832,  in  anticipation  of  meeting  the 
hostile  Indians  somewhere  in  this  community. 

The  volunteers'  camp,  in  sight  of  the  Watch 
Tower,  May  7-10,  1832,  has  added  interest 
because  of  the  presence  there  of  Capt.  Abra- 
ham Lincoln  and  his  company.  The  volunteers 
were  sworn  into  the  Federal  service  at  this 
camp. 


Black    Hawk's    Watch    Tower 


P  a  iz  e     Ten 


Jilack  Hawk  was  seventy  years  of  age  when  this  portrait   of  liim  was  painted  by  James  Byrd   King — Taken  from  the 

McKenney  &  Hall  Collection  of  North  American  Indians 

Black  Hawk  and  Keokuk,  Both  Sons  of  the 
Watch  Tower  Village 


"The  names  of  Black  Hawk  and  Keokuk 
must  be  included  in  any  list  of  great  Amer- 
ican Indians.  And,  measured  by  what  they 
were  and  what  they  did,  their  names  must 
stand  near  the  top  of  such  a  list.  They  surfer 
in  comparison  with  none.    That  out  of  a  tribe 


numbering  only  a  few  thousand  persons  two 
such  men  should  have  been  developed  at  one 
time  is  in  itself  remarkable.  *  *  *  * 
The  roles  played  by  these  two  Indians  are 
diametrically  opposed  to  each  other.  Black 
Hawks  part   was  that   of  unavailing  protest, 


I'  ;i  K  c      E  1  e  v  <■  n 


Black    Hawk's    Watch    Tower 


«ife-^:  Hi 


Keokuk,   painted  from   I,ife   by  (ieorge  Catlin 
The  original  is  at  the  National  Museum,  Washington,  I).  C 


and  Keokuk's  that  of  equally  unavailing  ac- 
quiescence. Black  Hawk  resisted  while  Keo- 
kuk compromised.  Keokuk's  course  was  based 
on  an  intelligent  calculation  of  consequences, 
while  Black  Hawk  followed  the  instincts  and 
aspirations  of  his  race,  regardless  of  con- 
sequences. It  came  about  that  Keokuk  was 
pleased  with  the  praise  of  white  men,  while 
Black   Hawk   found   no   pleasure   in   anything 


except  a  satisfied  racial  conscience.  Black 
Hawk  died  nobly  in  the  virtues  of  his  own 
race,  while  Keokuk  passed  out  in  many  of  the 
vices  of  the  white  man.  History  may  praise 
Keokuk,  but  it  must  admire  Black  Hawk. 

"First  of  all,  and  most  of  all,  the  historian 
wonders  how  these  two  men,  out  of  their  mea- 
ger opportunities,  gathered  so  much  human 
wisdom,  and  how,  out  of  their  miserable  sur- 


Black    Hawk's    Watch    Tower 


Pase     Twelve 


Keokuk  on  Horseback,  painted  from  L.ife  by  (ieorge  Catlin 

Keokuk  told  the  artist  he  bought  the  horse  of  Antoine  LeClaire  for  $300.00.    The  original  paint- 
ing is  in  the  National  Museum,  Washington  D.  C. 


roundings,  they  garnered  so  much  human  no- 
bility. If  it  is  true  that  many  of  their  acts 
were  brutal,  it  is  also  true  that  many  of  their 
thoughts  were  lofty.  The  beautiful  imagery 
of  many  of  their  spoken  words  betokens  both 
wealth  of  mind  and  health  of  heart.  Only 
fine  instruments  produce  fine  music.  In  their 
speeches  one  comes  often  upon  the  evidences 
of  a  rare  appreciation  of  nature,  and  of  a  phil- 
osophy of  life  that  is  almost  profound.  One 
discovers  also  the  evidences  of  manners  and 
morals;  of  things  ethical  and  religious;  and 
of  that  fairest  of  all  human  qualities,  charity. 
Embittered  rivals,  they  forgave  each  other. 
Keokuk  intervened  for  Black  Hawk  when  he 
was  down  and  out,  and  Black  Hawk  in  his 
swan  song  said,  'Do  not  blame  him,'  after  he 


had  depicted  Keokuk  as  the  cause  of  his  great 
undoing. 

"Black  Hawk  and  Keokuk  read  no  books, 
and  yet  they  knew  and  uttered  the  things  that 
are  written  in  books.  But  if  neither  one  could 
read  or  write  in  any  human  language,  is  it  not 
true  that  all  the  books  are  not  printed  ones? 
Is  not  wisdom  expressed  also  in  fields  and  in 
forests ;  in  meadows  and  in  streams ;  in  clouds 
and  in  stars,  as  well  as  in  books  and  pictures? 
What  writers  and  artists  garner  for  others, 
these  Indians  may  have  garnered  for  them- 
selves out  of  the  bounteous  nature  around 
them.  It  is  worth  while  to  study  the  man  in 
the  forest  as  well  as  the  man  in  the  library; 
the  savage  as  well  as  the  civilized  man;  the 
primal  as  well  as  the  final  man. 


I'  a  g  e     T  b  i  r  t  c  c  n 


Black    Hawk's    Watch    Tower 


lilaek    Hawk,    by   R.   M.   Sully — Painted   from   life    while   Itlack    Hawk   was  a  Prisoner  of   Mar  at    Fortress   .Monroe,   Va.,  in    IHXi 
The  original  painting  is  at  the  Wisconsin  Historical  Society,  Madison,  Wis. 


"Black  Hawk  was  all  Indian,  but  Keokuk 
had  in  him  an  admixture  of  Caucasian  blood. 
Black  Hawk  speaks  of  his  father,  Pyesa,  but 
his  mother  remained  nameless;  Keokuk's  fa- 
ther had  no  name  that  survives,  but  his  mother 
was  La  Lott,  a  half-breed.  Among  Indians 
he  bore  the  distinction  of  blue  eyes.  But  Keo- 
kuk regarded  himself  as  an  Indian.  He  was 
a  Sac,  and  that  meant  a  proud  Indian.  Physi- 
cally, as  well  as  mentally,  and  in  their  careers, 
the    two   men   were    opposites.     Black    Hawk 


was  probably  five  feet  and  eight  inches  in 
height,  thin  and  wiry;  Keokuk  stood  nearly 
six  feet  in  height,  and  robust  and  massive. 
Black  Hawk  had  an  acquiline  nose  and  his 
eyes  are  spoken  of  as  the  most  piercing  ever 
seen  in  a  human  head.  Keokuk  was  described 
as  a  'magnificent  specimen'  of  manhood,  and 
when  he  was  wrought  upon,  as  in  speaking,  he 
is  said  to  'have  looked  like  thunder'.'' 

— From  "A  History  of  the  People  of  Iowa,"  by  Cyrenus 
Cole  (1921),  pages  107  to  109. 


Black   Hawk's    Watch    Tower 


Pace     Fourteen 


Indians  from  Tama,  Iowa,  at  Black  Hawk's  Watch  Tower,  1923 

Courtship  and  Marriage 


"The  women  join  us  in  the  Crane  Dance, 
dressed  in  their  most  gaudy  attire  and  decor- 
ated with  feathers.  The  Crane  Dance  often 
lasts  two  or  three  days.  At  this  feast  the  young 
men  select  the  women  they  wish  to  have  for 
wives.  Each  then  informs  his  mother,  who 
calls  on  the  mother  of  the  girl,  when  the  neces- 


sary arrangements  are  made  and  the  time  ap- 
pointed for  him  to  come. 

"He  goes  to  the  lodge  when  all  are  asleep, 
or  pretend  to  be,  and  with  his  flint  and  steel 
strikes  a  light  and  soon  finds  where  his  in- 
tended sleeps.  He  then  awakens  her,  holds  the 
light  close  to  his  face  that  she  may  know  him, 
after  which  he  places  the  light  close  to  her. 


P  a  k  e     Fifteen 


Black    Hawk's    Watch    Tower 


The   "National   Dance"  at   Black   Hawk's  Village 
By  Prof,  olof  Grafstroin,  of  Augustana  College  and  Theological  Seminary 


"If  she  blows  it  out  the  ceremony  is  ended 
and  he  appears  in  the  lodge  next  morning  as 
one  of  the  family. 

"If  she  does  not  blow  out  the  light,  but 
leaves  it  burning  he  retires  from  the  lodge. 
The  next  day  he  places  himself  in  plain  view 
and  plays  his  flute.  The  young  women  go  out 
one  by  one  to  see  who  he  is  playing  for.  The 
tune  changes  to  let  them  know  that  he  is  not 
playing  for  them. 

"When  his  intended  makes  her  appearance 
at  the  door,  he  continues  his  courting  tune 
until  she  returns  to  the  lodge.  He  then  quits 
playing  and  makes  another  trial  at  night,  which 
usually  turns  out  favorably. 

"When  the  Crane  dance  is  over,  we  feast 
again  and  have  our  NATIONAL  DANCE. 
The  large  square  in  the  village  is  swept  and 
prepared  for  the  purpose.  The  chiefs  and  old 
warriors  take  seats  on  mats  which  have  been 
spread  on  the  upper  end  of  the  square.  Next 
come  the  drummers  and  singers. 

"The  braves  and  women  form  the  sides, 
leaving  a  large  space  in  the  middle. 


"The  drums  beat  and  the  singing  com- 
mences. A  warrior  enters  the  square,  keeping 
time  with  the  music.  He  shows  the  manner  he 
started  on  a  war  party ;  how  he  approached  the 
enemy;  he  strikes,  and  shows  how  he  killed 
him.  All  join  in  the  applause,  and  he  then 
leaves  the  square  and  another  takes  his  place. 

"Such  of  our  young  men  as  have  not  been 
out  in  war  parties  and  killed  an  enemy  stand 
back  ashamed,  not  being  allowed  to  enter  the 
square.  I  remember  that  I  was  ashamed  to  look 
where  our  young  men  stood,  before  I  could 
take  my  stand  in  the  ring  as  a  warrior. 

"This  national  dance  makes  our  warriors. 
When  I  was  traveling  last  summer  on  a  steam- 
boat on  the  river  going  from  New  York  to 
Albany,  I  was  shown  the  place  where  the 
Americans  dance  the  war  dance  (West  Point)  ; 
where  the  old  warriors  recount  to  their  young 
men  what  they  have  done,  to  stimulate  them 
to  go  and  do  likewise.  This  surprised  me,  as 
I  did  not  think  the  whites  understood  our  way 
of  making  braves."  (Autobiography,  pp. 
64-66.) 


Black    Hawk's    Watch    Tower 


Page    Sixteen 


The  Great  National  Game  of  tlie  Indians 


Ball  Play 


The  great  national  game  then,  as  now,  was 
a  ball  game,  and  they  had  their  tribal  and  coun- 
try-wide champions,  on  which  the  Indians  were 
willing  to  stake  all  their  possessions.  Black 
Hawk  speaks  of  their  local  ball  play,  in  his 
autobiography   (p.  68),  as  follows: 

"We  next  have  our  great  ball  play.  From 
three  to  five  hundred  on  a  side  play  this  game. 
We  play  for  guns,  lead,  horses  and  blankets, 
or  any  other  kind  of  property  we  may  have. 
The  successful  party  takes  the  stakes,  and  all 
return  to  our  lodges  with  peace  and  friend- 
ship.   We  next  commence  horse  racing,   and 


continue  our  sport  and  feasting  until  the  corn 
is-  secured.  We  then  prepare  to  leave  our  vil- 
lage for  our  hunting  grounds." 

These  pictures  of  the  great  game  are  copies 
of  those  at  the  National  Museum,  painted  by 
George  Catlin,  and  because  of  the  general  in- 
terest in  the  subject  of  sports,  we  include  Mr. 
Catlin's  description  of  the  scenes  accompany- 
ing the  game,  as  follows: 

"From  day  to  day  we  were  entertained  with 
some  games  or  feats  that  were  exceedingly 
amusing:  Horse  racing,  dancing,  wrestling, 
foot-racing  and  ball  playing  were  amongst  the 


I>  ;i  g  c      S  c  V  (•  n  t  c  c  n 


Black    Hawk's    Watch    Tower 


most  exciting;  and  of  all  the  catalog  the  most 
beautiful  was  decidedly  that  of  ball  playing. 
This  wonderful  game,  which  is  the  favorite  one 
amongst  all  the  tribes  *  *  *  and  played 
exactly  the  same,  can  never  be  appreciated  by 
those  who  are  not  happy  enough  to  see  it. 

"It  is  no  uncommon  occurrence  for  six  or 
eight  hundred  or  a  thousand  of  these  young 
men  to  engage  in  a  game  of  ball,  with  five  or 
six  times  that  number  of  spectators,  of  men, 
women  and  children,  surrounding  the  ground 
and  looking  on.  And  I  pronounce  such  a  scene, 
with  its  hundreds  of  nature's  most  beautiful 
models,  denuded  and  painted  of  various  colors, 
running  and  leaping  into  the  air  in  all  the  most 
extravagant  and  varied  forms  in  the  desperate 
struggles  for  the  ball,  a  school  for  the  painter 
or  sculptor  equal  to  any  of  those  which  ever 
inspired  the  hand  of  the  artist  in  the  Olympian 
games  or  the  Roman  forum. 

"Monday  afternoon,  at  three  o'clock,  I  rode 
out  with  Lieutenants  S.  and  M.  to  a  very  pret- 
ty prairie,  about  six  miles  distant,  to  the  ball 
playground  of  the  Choctaws,  where  we  found 
several  thousand  Indians  encamped.  There 
were  two  points  of  timber  about  half  a  mile 
apart  in  which  the  two  parties  for  the  play, 
with  their  respective  families  and  friends,  were 
encamped,  and,  lying  between  them,  the  prai- 
rie on  which  the  game  was  to  be  played.  My 
companions  and  myself,  although  we  had  been 
apprised  that  to  see  the  whole  of  a  ball  play 
we  must  remain  on  the  ground  all  the  night 
previous,  had  brought  nothing  to  sleep  on,  re- 
solving to  keep  our  eyes  open  and  see  what 
transpired  through  the  night.  During  the 
afternoon  we  loitered  about  amongst  the  dif- 
ferent tents  and  shanties  of  the  two  encamp- 
ments, and  afterwards  at  sundown,  witnessed 
the  ceremony  of  measuring  out  the  ground 
and  erecting  the  "byes''  or  goals  which  were 
to  guide  the  play.  Each  party  had  their  goal 
made  with  two  upright  posts  (about  25  feet 
high  and  six  feet  apart)  set  firm  in  the  ground, 
with  a  pole  across  at  the  top.  These  goals 
were  about  forty  or  fifty  rods  apart,  and  at  a 
point  just  halfway  between  was  another  small 
stake  driven  down,  where  the  ball  was  to  be 
thrown  up  at  the  firing  of  a  gun,  to  be  strug- 
gled for  by  the  players.  All  this  preparation 
was  made  by  some  old  men  who  were,  it  seems, 
selected  to  be  the  judges  of  the  play,  who  drew 


a  line  from  one  bye  to  the  other;  to  which,  di- 
rectly, came  from  the  woods  on  both  sides  a 
great  concourse  of  women  and  old  men,  boys 
and  girls,  and  dogs  and  horses,  where  bets 
were  to  be  made  on  the  play.  The  betting 
was  all  done  across  this  line,  and  seemed  to 
be  chiefly  left  to  the  women,  who  seemed  to 
have  martialed  out  a  little  of  everything  that 
their  houses  and  their  fields  possessed.  Goods 
and  chattels,  knives,  dresses,  blankets,  pots 
and  kettles,  dogs  and  horses  and  guns;  and  all 
were  placed  in  the  possession  of  the  stakehold- 
ers, who  sat  by  them  and  watched  them  on 
the  ground  all  night  preparatory  to  the  play. 

"This  game  had  been  arranged  and  'made 
up'  three  or  four  months  before  the  parties 
met  to  play  it,  and  in  the  following  manner: 
The  two  champions  who  led  the  two  parties, 
and  had  the  alternate  choosing  of  the  players 
through  the  whole  tribe,  sent  runners  with  the 
ball-sticks,  most  fantastically  ornamented  with 
ribbons  and  red  paint,  to  be  touched  by  each 
one  of  the  chosen  players,  who  thereby  agreed 
to  be  on  the  spot  at  the  appointed  time  and 
ready  for  the  play.  The  ground  having  been 
all  prepared  and  preliminaries  of  the  game  all 
settled,  and  the  bettings  all  made  and  goods  all 
staked,'  night  came  on  without  the  appear- 
ance of  any  players  on  the  ground.  But  soon 
after  dark  a  procession  of  lighted  flambeaux 
was  seen  coming  from  each  encampment  to 
the  ground,  where  the  players  assembled 
around  their  respective  byes;  and  at  the  beat 
of  the  drums  and  chants  of  the  women  each 
party  of  players  commenced  the  'ball-play 
dance.'  Each  party  danced  for  a  quarter  of 
an  hour  around  their  respective  byes  in  their 
ball-play  dress;  rattling  their  ball-sticks  togeth- 
er in  the  most  violent  manner,  and  all  singing 
as  loud  as  they  could  raise  their  voices;  whilst 
the  women  of  each  party,  who  had  their  goods 
at  stake,  formed  into  two  rows  on  the  line  be- 
tween the  two  parties  of  players,  and  danced 
also  in  a  uniform  step;  and  all  their  voices 
joined  in  chants  to  the  Great  Spirit,  in  which 
they  were  soliciting  his  favor  in  deciding  the 
game  to  their  advantage;  and  also  encourag- 
ing the  players  to  exert  every  power  they  pos- 
sessed in  the  struggle  that  was  to  ensue.  In 
the  meantime,  four  old  medicine  men  who 
were  to  have  the  starting  of  the  ball,  and  who 
were  to  be  judges  of  the  play,  were  seated  at 
the  point  where  the  ball  was  to  be  started,  and 


Black    Hawk's    Watch    Tower 


Page     Eighteen 


Squaws  Take  a   Hand  at  the  National  Game,  to  the  Great  Amusement  of  the  Braves 


busily  smoking  to  the  Great  Spirit  for  their 
success  in  judging  rightly  and  impartially  be- 
tween the  parties  in  so  important  an  affair. 

"This  dance  was  one  of  the  most  pictur- 
esque scenes  imaginable,  and  was  repeated  at 
intervals  of  every  half  hour  during  the  night 
and  exactly  in  the  same  manner;  so  that  the 
players  were  certainly  awake  all  the  night  and 
arrayed  in  their  appropriate  dress,  prepared 
for  the  play  which  was  to  commence  at  nine 
o'clock  the  next  morning.  In  the  morning,  at 
the  hour,  the  two  parties  and  all  their  friends 
were  drawn  out  and  over  the  ground,  when,  at 
length,  the  game  commenced  by  the  judges 
throwing  up  a  ball  at  the  firing  of  a  gun;  when 
an  instant  struggle  ensued  between  the  play- 
ers, who  were  some  six  or  seven  hundred  in 
numbers,   and  were  mutually  endeavoring  to 


catch  the  ball  in  their  sticks  and  throw  it  home 
and  between  their  respective  stakes;  which, 
whenever  successfully  done,  counts  one  for 
game.  In  this  game  every  player  was  dressed 
alike,  that  is,  divested  of  all  dress  except  the 
girdle  and  the  tail,  which  I  have  before  de- 
scribed; and  in  these  desperate  struggles  for 
the  ball  when  it  is  up,  where  hundreds  are  run- 
ning together  and  leaping  actually  over  each 
other's  heads,  and  darting  between  their  ad- 
versaries' legs,  tripping  and  throwing,  and  foil- 
ing each  other  in  every  possible  manner,  and 
every  voice  raised  to  the  highest  key  in  shrill 
yelps  and  barks,  there  are  rapid  successions  of 
feats  and  of  incidents  that  astonish  and  amuse 
far  beyond  the  conception  of  anyone  who  has 
not  had  the  singular  good  luck  to  witness 
them." 

—pp.  123-126,  Vol.  2,  "No.  Am.  Indians,"  by  Catlin. 


I'  a  g  e     Nineteen 


Black    Hawk's    Watch    Tower 


At   Indian    Lovers'  Spring,  Black   Hawk   Watch   Tower 


The  tragedy  which  occurred  at  this  spot  is 
told  by  Black  Hawk,  as  follows: 

"In  1827,  a  young  Sioux  Indian  got  lost  on 
the  prairie  in  a  snow  storm,  and  found  his  way 
into  a  camp  of  the  Sacs.  According  to  Indian 
customs,  although  he  was  an  enemy,  he  was 
safe  while  accepting  their  hospitality.  He  fell 
in  love  with  the  daughter  of  the  Sac  at  whose 
village  he  had  been  entertained,  and  before 
leaving  for  his  own  country,  promised  to  come 
to  the  Sac  village  for  her  at  a  certain  time  dur- 
ing the  approaching  summer.  In  July  he  made 
his  way  to  the  Rock  river  village,  secreting 
himself  in  the  woods  until  he  met  the  object 
of  his  love,  who  came  out  to  the  field  with  her 
mother  to  assist  in  hoeing  corn.  Late  in  the 
afternoon  her  mother  left  her  and  went  to  the 


village.  No  sooner  had  she  got  out  of  hearing 
than  he  gave  a  loud  whistle,  which  assured  the 
maiden  that  he  had  returned.  She  continued 
hoeing  leisurely  to  the  end  of  the  row,  when 
her  lover  came  to  meet  her,  and  she  promised 
to  come  to  him  as  soon  as  she  could  go  to  the 
lodge  and  get  her  blanket,  and  together  they 
would  flee  to  his  country.  But,  unfortunately 
for  the  lovers,  the  girls  two  brothers  had  seen 
the  meeting,  and,  after  procuring  their  guns, 
started  in  pursuit  of  them.  A  heavy  thunder 
storm  was  coming  on  at  the  time.  The  lovers 
hastened  to  and  took  shelter  under  a  cliff  of 
rocks  at  Black  Hawk's  Watch  Tower.  Soon 
after  a  loud  peal  of  thunder  was  heard;  the 
cliff  of  rocks  was  shattered  into  a  thousand 
pieces  and  the  lovers  buried  beneath,  while  in 
full  view  of  her  pursuing  brothers." 


Black    Hawk's    Watch    Tower 


Page     Twenty 


Camp   Fire  Girls   Entertaining  a  State   Christian   Endeavor  Convention   at  the   Watch   Tower 

The  Watch  Tower  in  the  French  and  Indian  War — 1760-61 


Sauk  and  Fox  Indians  took  part — on  the 
winning  side — in  Braddock's  defeat,  and  were 
found  marching  with  a  horde  of  Indians  of 
other  tribes  under  the  French  general,  Mont- 
calm, in  the  campaign  down  Lakes  Champ- 
lain  and  George. 

In  the  winter  of  1760-61  there  were  enter- 
tained at  the  village  at  the  Watch  Tower  the 
last  of  the  French  soldiers  to  serve  in  the  old 
northwest. 

They  were  under  the  command  of  Louis 
Lienard,  Sieur  de  Beaujeu  Villemonde,  a  broth- 
er of  the  hero  of  Braddock's  defeat,  and  were 
retreating  after  the  British  conquest  of  Canada, 
as  told  in  "French  Regime  in  Wisconsin  and 
the  Northwest,''  by  Kellogg,  as  follows: 

"All  the  upper  country  was  included  in  the 
surrender.  The  French  toops  were  to  lay  down 
their  arms  and  not  to  serve  again  during  the 
war.  *  *  *  The  commandant  at  Mackinac, 
*  *  Beaujeu,  made  preparations  for  depart- 
ure in  order  to  avoid  the  humiliation  of  sur- 
rendering the  garrison  and  post  to  a  British 
officer.  The  way  through  the  land  to  the  Mis- 
sissippi was  yet  open.    Beaujeu,  after  denud- 


ing the  fort,  started  with  all  his  forces  for  the 
Illinois  (country).  Since  this  province  was 
part  of  Louisiana,  it  was  hoped  it  would  not  be 
included  in  the  capitulation.  Arrived  at  La 
Baye  (Green  Bay,  Wis.),  Couterot  and  his 
garrison  joined  in  the  retreat,  making  up  a 
force  of  four  officers,  two  cadets,  forty-eight 
soldiers  and  seventy-eight  militia.  This  was  the 
last  French  expedition  to  pass  along  the  Fox- 
Wisconsin  waterway,  and  we  may  imagine 
that  the  late  autumn  landscape  along  their 
route  fell  in  with  the  melancholy  of  their 
spirits  at  the  abandonment  of  this  lovely  land. 
The  season  was  cold,  and  before  the  Illinois 
settlements  could  be  reached  the  ice  on  the 
Mississippi  stopped  their  retreat.  There  was 
nothing  to  do  but  to  winter  among  the  Indians 
at  the  mouth  of  Rock  river,  in  the  village  where 
Marin  had  once  commanded,  and  where  a  few 
years  later  the  chief  Black  Hawk  would  be 
born.  It  was  a  strange  fatality  that  the  last 
winter  of  the  French  of  the  northwest  was 
spent  among  the  Sauk  Indians  who  had  made 
the  original  grant  of  the  land  upon  which  the 
post  of  La  Baye  stood.''  (See,  also,  pages  84, 
85  and  221,  in  Vol.  XVIII,  Wis.  Hist.  Colls.) 


V  a  jr  e    T  w  e  u  t  y  -  o  n  e 


Black    Hawk's    Watch    Tower 


Rotary   Club  of    Koek   Island    Cruising   Anion;;    Historic   Scenes   at    the    Watch    Tower 


The  Watch  Tower  in  the  Revolutionary  War 


Whether  we  speak  of  the  recent  World  war 
or  any  of  the  great  campaigns  of  this  country 
which  preceded  it,  the  white  man  has  always 
sought  the  Indian  warrior  to  help  in  the  fight- 
ing. 

In  common  with  all  the  Indian  villages  of  the 
upper  Mississippi  and  the  Great  Lakes  district, 
the  Watch  Tower  village  was  canvassed  by 
British  agents  to  enlist  the  Indians  for  service 
on  the  Colonial  frontiers.  They  were  to  be 
used  in  committing  such  horrible  atrocities  that 
General  Washington  would  be  compelled  to 
divide  his  forces — to  scatter  his  army  about 
over  frontier  and  coast  until  any  part  of  it 
would  be  an  easy  prey  to  the  British  regulars. 

The  Americans,  even  before  the  conquest 
of  the  Illinois  country  by  General  Clark  in  July, 
1  778,  had  sent  agents  who  succeeded,  to  some 
extent,  in  pledging  the  Sauk  and  Fox  to  keep 
out  of  the  British  ranks.  After  the  coming  of 
Clark  messengers  were  sent  to  all  the  tribes  of 


the  old  northwest,  inviting  them  to  come  to 
Cahokia  to  join  with  him  in  treaties  of  peace. 
The  Indians  came  in  large  numbers — whether 
only  pacifist  groups,  we  do  not  know,  but  they 
came  and  signed  peace  treaties. 

The  Indians  of  the  Watch  Tower  vicinity 
were  not,  however,  at  the  mercy  of  eloquent, 
brow-beating,  flattering,  bribing,  promising, 
threatening  agents.  They  had  within  their  own 
ranks  a  strong,  outstanding,  independent  lead- 
er all  their  own,  in  the  person  of  Le  Main 
Cassee. 

The  Watch  Tower  occupied  middle  ground. 
Its  people  traded  with  both  the  English  and  the 
Americans.  On  the  one  hand  it  was  considered 
a  serious  thing  that  the  British  should  threaten 
to  withhold  their  traders  from  doing  business 
at  the  Watch  Tower,  and  on  the  other  hand, 
they  were  carrying  on  a  good  business  with  the 
Spanish  subjects  at  St.  Louis,  and  with  the 
Americans  down  in  Illinois,  who  were  purchas- 


Black    Hawk's    Watch    Tower 


Pa 


T  w  c  11  t  y  -  t  w  o 


ing  horses  and  large  quantities  of  lead  from 
them. 

The  Indians  of  the  Watch  Tower  vicinity, 
because  of  their  being  on  middle  ground  and 
having  equal  intercourse  with  both  sides,  were 
found  to  have  warriors  marching  with  Bur- 
goyne  at  Saratoga,  and  with  Hesse  at  St.  Louis 
and  Cahokia.  While  in  the  midst  of  it  all  their 
representatives  carried  on  an  organized  pro- 
paganda against  the  British;  all  but  broke  up 
a  British  expedition  at  the  Watch  Tower;  held 
wampum  belts  of  the  "Bostonians,"  and  signed 
treaties  of  peace  and  friendship  with  the  Amer- 
icans under  Gen.  George  Rogers  Clark. 

Their  friendship  for  the  Americans  came 
very  near  plunging  the  Watch  Tower  Indians 
into  a  war  with  the  British  Sioux,  who  wished 
to  punish  them  and  who  wanted  only  a  word 
of  approval  from  the  British  agent  before  mak- 
ing the  attack,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
Americans,  under  Col.  John  Montgomery,  did 
attack  the  village  and  burned  it  because  some 
of  its  inhabitants  were  found  in  the  British 
force,  in  1  780,  which  attempted  to  reconquer 
the  Illinois  country. 

LE  MAIN  CASSEE  AT  HIS  WATCH  TOW- 
ER HOME  PROVES  HIMSELF  TO 
BE  PRO-AMERICAN 

To  Major  DePeyster  (British  Commandant  at 
Michilimacinac)  : 

"Sir:  — 

"Having  learned  that  Governor  Hamilton 
was  in  winter  quarters  at  the  Post  ( Vincennes) , 
to  continue  in  the  spring  his  expedition,  I  set 
out  to  reinforce  him  by  way  of  the  Mississippi 
river  with  280  men — Puants,  Feauxavoines, 
Foxes,  Ottawas  and  Seauteaux.  After  having 
made  all  the  absolutely  necessary  expendi- 
tures, I  descended  the  Mississippi  to  the  Rock 
river  (it  was  then  the  4th  of  April),  where  I 
found  the  Sauks  in  small  numbers,  and  a  man 
named  Le  Main  Cassee  (the  Crushed  Hand), 
to  whom  I  began  to  speak  in  your  name,  at 
which  he  stopped  up  his  ears  and  would  listen 
to  nothing,  and  even  ridiculed  the  threats  you 
had  made  against  the  Sauks  and  Foxes  last 
fall,  to  the  effect  that  if  you  noticed  that  they 
were  with  the  Bostonians  (Americans),  you 
would  cut  them  off  from  the  traders,  and  he 
answered  me,  he  and  all  the  others,  that  they 


had  arrows  to  obtain  a  living,  and  that  they 
were  not  worrying  about  that.  Not  satisfied 
with  this  insolence,  I  was  forced  to  leave  1  20 
men,  and  I  believe  if  they  had  been  strong 
enough,  they  would  have  seized  me  to  deliver 
me  to  the  Bostonians. 

"I  continued  on  my  way  again  with  the 
rest  of  my  party,  to  where  I  supposed  the 
Feauxavoines  were,  as  well  as  the  Sauks  from 
Wisconsin,  who  were  all  there,  having  ar- 
rived the  6th.  I  did  not  find  any  of  your  chil- 
dren, but  I  found  some  Bostonian  Sauks. 
They  refused  my  request,  after  I  had  spoken 
to  them  in  your  name,  having  received  word 
from  the  rebels,  and  even  threatened  me  to 
give  information  about  my  movements  to  the 
Bostonians.  While  this  parleying  was  going 
on,  news  arrived  that  Governor  Hamilton  was 
captured  (at  Vincennes,  in  February).  This 
caused  murmuring  in  my  little  camp,  and  still 
the  Puants  and  the  Feauxavoines  assured  me 
that  they  would  never  forget  me,  their  father, 
and  that  they  would  sooner  die.  For  the  time 
being  it  was  necessary  to  leave  there,  the  7th. 

"With  reference  to  the  outbreak  of  the  Sacs, 
you  will  learn  about  this  by  inquiring  of  the 
Turtle  as  to  what  is  going  on.  He  was  one 
of  my  "war  chiefs.  I  expect  the  Puants  will 
see  you.  If  Carminis  appears  before  me,  I 
hope  you  will  reprimand  him.  He  has  done 
everything  he  could  to  stop  the  young  Puants. 
I  have  told  Quindinaque  that  you  wish  to  see 
him  to  speak  to  him,  and  he  has  promised  that 
he  will  come,  and  I  have  withdrawn  a  Boston- 
ian commission  which  I  send  you  in  this  letter, 
which  I  have  the  honor  to  write  you. 

"You  are  hereby  informed  that  a  certain 
person  named  Annigom  has  killed  a  Fox  wo- 
man, and  he  has  been  killed  for  his  crime  by 
the  Foxes.  I  hope  shortly  to  have  the  honor 
to  render  an  account  of  my  mission  and  to 
inform  you  more  in  detail  concerning  these 
scoundrely  tribes.  Allow  me,  sir,  to  assure 
madame  of  my  respects.  I  am  with  a  pro- 
found  (illegible), 

"Your  very  humble  and  obedient  servant, 

(Signed)  "C.  GAUTIER." 
"From  LaBaye,  April   19,   1779." 

NOTE. — The  above  letter  was  translated  from  the 
French  by  Prof.  C.  L.  Esbjorn,  of  Augustana  College  and 
Theological  Seminary,  Rock  Island,  111.  The  photographic 
copy,  a  cut  of  which  appears  herewith,  is  from  the  original 
at  the  British  Museum,  London,  England,  and  was  secured 
through  data  given  by  the  Wisconsin  Historical  Society. 


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Facsimile  of   Gautier's   Letter — Translation   on   Opposite   FaRe 


Black    Hawk's    Watch    Tower 


Page     Twenty-four 


Le  Main  Cassee- 1778- 1779 


Le  Main  Cassee  was  a  Sauk  Indian  and  lived 
at  the  Watch  Tower  village.  In  certain  British 
reports  published  in  the  Collections  of  the  Wis- 
consin Historical  Society  (Vol.  XI),  he  is  men- 
tioned three  times.  In  each  instance  he  is  the 
central  figure  of  the  scene. 

The  first  mention  is  of  the  7th  of  May,  1  778, 
two  months  before  the  arrival  in  Illinois  of 
George  Rogers  Clark.  The  scene  is  at  Prairie 
du  Chien,  whither  all  the  traders  had  come  to 
set  up  their  wares  and  deal  with  many  tribes  as 
they  came  from  winter  quarters  and  brought 
the  season's  packs  of  furs.  Here  was  the 
throng  of  Indians;  here  and  now  was  the  time 
when  they  had  more  money — or  valuables — 
than  at  any  other  time  of  the  year.  Therefore, 
here  came  all  those  whites  who  hoped  to  ex- 
ploit the  Indian  in  one  way  and  another.  There 
was  drunkenness  and  debauchery  in  the  ex- 
treme. Here,  too,  came  Capt.  Charles  Gautier, 
to  seek  recruits  for  the  British  service.  The 
braves  were  to  be  used  against  the  Colonial 
frontiers;  to  attack  old  men,  women  and  chil- 
dren, and  to  burn  their  homes,  while  the  able- 
bodied  were  serving  in  General  Washington's 
armies. 

Gautier's  report  was  written  in  the  French 
language.  The  translation  (found  in  Vol.  XI, 
Wis.  Hist.  Colls.,  p.  106)  shows  that  in  the 
midst  of  this  morbid  confusion  of  drunken- 
ness, of  murder  and  scalping,  and  attempt  to 
draw  the  Indians  from  their  homes  into  a  white 
man's  war,  there  was  one  native  sufficiently 
clear  headed  to  see  through  it  all.  This  was 
Le  Main  Cassee.  Of  his  appearance  in  one  of 
the  meetings,  or  councils,  showing,  incidental- 
ly, some  of  the  difficulties  of  the  recruiting 
service,  Captain  Gautier  writes  as  follows: 

"Such  confusion  was  hard  to  put  down 
among  Indians,  who  charged  the  whites  with  a 
wish  to  destroy  them  by  drink  and  by  war. 
That  which  turned  a  large  part  of  the  Sakies 
and  Renards  from  going  down  (to  Canada), 
speaking  very  badly  and  without  reserve,  aris- 
ing from  a  Sakie  of  the  river  la  Roche  (Rock 
river)  named  Le  Main  Cassee,"  etc.  This  is 
the  first  glimpse  we  have  of  this  man,  who  is 
here  represented  as  having  successfully 
blocked,  to  a  large  extent,  the  recruiting  among 


the  Sauk  and  Fox — and  possibly  other  tribes- 
men. 

The  second  mention  is  of  the  4th  of  June, 
1778,  in  the  same  report  mentioned  above. 
Here  Le  Main  Cassee  is  named  as  one  who 
should  have  some  special  attention,  because 
it  is  expensive  to  the  British  to  try  to  overcome 
his  propaganda.  The  report  speaks  of  "The 
runners  that  he  is  constantly  dispatching,  even 
to  Milwaukee;  not  for  the  good,  but  for  the 
bad" — that  is,  bad  for  the  British.  This  report 
indicates  that  Le  Main  Cassee  had  qualities 
of  a  leader,  a  director,  an  organizer,  and  was 
working  on  a  definite  plan,  through  tribal 
co-operation,  not  among  the  Sauk  and  Fox 
only,  but  among  the  Menominees  at  Mil- 
waukee, and  presumably  among  other  nations 
also.  Fortunately  for  us,  a  glimpse  of  one  of  his 
delegations  at  work  is  preserved  for  us  in  the 
following,  which  is  part  of  the  same  (Gau- 
tier's) report  above  referred  to,  as  follows: 
(The  scene  is  a  Sauk  village  on  the  Wisconsin 
river.) 

"22nd  May,  1778.  I  arrived  at  the  village 
of  the  Sakies  and  the  next  day  I  talked  war. 
That  day  there  arrived  three  Sakies  of  the  vil- 
lage from  the  river  la  Roche  (Rock  river),  who 
came  to  speak  to  all  the  villages  of  Wisconsin 
with  a  so-called  belt  of  the  Bostonians.  *  * 
They  were  at  one  end  of  the  lodge  when  I  be- 
gan to  talk  at  the  other  end,  without  knowing 
that  there  were  some  strangers  in  this  lodge. 
Afterwards  I  "was  warned  (by  a  good  old 
woman,  such  is  not  often  found)  not  to  go  to 
the  river  la  Roche  as  I  had  premeditated,  as  I 
and  my  men  would  be  killed.'' 

The  third  reference  to  Le  Main  Cassee  is  in 
early  spring  of  1  779,  at  the  Watch  Tower  vil- 
lage, and  is  given  in  full  on  another  page  of 
this  volume.  The  British  had  confidently  ex- 
pected to  retake  the  Illinois  country  that  spring. 
To  this  end  Lieutenant-Governor  Hamilton,  of 
Canada,  had  retaken  Vincennes  the  December 
previous,  and  had  planned  to  march  to  Kas- 
kaskia  and  other  Illinois  towns  on  the  Missis- 
sippi the  spring  of  1  779.  Here  he  would  be 
joined  by  a  war  party  coming  down  the  Illinois 
river  via  Chicago  and  another  large  party  to 


Pa  '-  e     T  \v  i'  11  i  y  -  f  i  v  e 


Black    Hawk's    Watch    Tower 


come  down  the  Mississippi,  under  command 
of  Capt.  Charles  Gautier.  It  was  the  last  men- 
tioned  party   which   successfully    reached   the 


Watch  Tower  village,  where  it  was  all  but 
broken  on  the  rock  of  Le  Main  Cassees  per- 
sonality. 


The  Balance  of  Power  — 1780 


Captain  Gautier's  unhappy  experience  at 
the  Watch  Tower  village  in  1  779  seemed  to 
have  cast  no  shadow  on  the  ardor  of  the  man 
who  succeeded  him,  Capt.  Emanuel  Hesse. 

The  grandest  scheme  of  the  Revolutionary 
war  period  was  that  of  the  British  in  the  at- 
tempt, in  1  780,  to  take  the  entire  Mississippi 
valley.  Spain  held  the  west  side  of  the  river, 
the  Americans  the  east  side.  Spain  had  de- 
clared war  on  Great  Britain  in  1  779,  and,  there- 
fore, its  interests  were  common  with  those  of 
the  Americans,  and  both  had  become  the  com- 
mon enemy  of  the  British. 

The  British  plans  included  the  sending  of  a 
fleet  up  the  river  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  to 
be  met  and  assisted  by  forces  coming  down 
from  the  Great  Lakes  and  upper  Mississippi. 
The  largest  fighting  force  from  the  northern 
country  was  that  under  Captain  Hesse.  He 
c?me  down  the  Wisconsin  and  the  Mississippi 
rivers.  He  came  as  a  conqueror,  and  on  the 
way  down  to  Rock  river,  and  before  reaching 
the  Sauk  and  Fox  there,  he  had  "Stopped  fifty 
tons  of  lead  intended  for  the  rebels"  at  the 
Sauk  and  Fox  mines  about  Galena-Dubuque, 
and  had  also  captured  "A  rebel  commissary  in 
a  large  armed  boat,  with  twelve  men." 

Captain  Hesse  had  about  one  thousand  men 
under  him,  the  great  majority  being  Indians. 
To  let  any  one  tribe  escape  service  with  him 
might  mean  that  other  tribes,  lacking  enthusi- 
asm for  the  cause,  would  expect  to  be  excused 
also.  Therefore  it  was  important  that  the  in- 
different and  unfriendly  Sauk  and  Fox  be  com- 
pelled to  join  him.  They  must  march  v/hether 
they  liked  it  or  not. 

Fortunately  for  the  American-Spanish  cause, 
the  Watch  Tower  population  did  yield  an  in- 
crease in  the  British  ranks  in  considerable  num- 
bers. But  the  British  learned,  to  their  sorrow, 
that  a  man  may  be  compelled  to  march,  but 
cannot  be  made  to  fight.  Their  first  attack  was 
at  St.  Louis,  where  sure  victory  was  expected 


— but  the  Sauk  and  Fox  held  back  in  such  a 
way  that  other  Indians  feared  a  rear  attack  from 
them,  and  also  dropped  out  of  the  fighting,  and 
the  grand  scheme  of  an  entire  Mississippi  val- 
ley conquest  faded  into  failure.  The  trader, 
DuCharne,  and  interpreter,  Calve,  are  men- 
tioned as  leaders  in  this  "treachery,"  but  from 
what  we  read  of  Le  Main  Cassee,  of  the  Watch 
Tower  village,  the  Sauk  and  Fox  needed  little, 
if  any,  outside  leadership  in  holding  back  in 
the  St.  Louis  battle.  After  the  failure  on  the 
west  side  of  the  Mississippi,  they  crossed  the 
river  and  attacked  Cahokia  and  failed  there, 
too,  and  then  began  their  retreat — some  up  the 
Illinois  river  and  others  by  way  of  the  Missis- 
sippi. They  did  not  question  the  cause  of  their 
defeat.  It  was  the  "perfidy"  and  "treachery" 
of  the  Sauk  and  Fox  and  their  leaders.  Had 
they  fought  loyally,  all  this  country  would  have 
been  theirs — and  would  doubtless  have  re- 
mained British. 

That  the  Sauk  and  Fox  on  this  occasion  held 
the  balance  of  power — and  cast  that  balance  in 
favor  of  their  American  friends — is  the  convic- 
tion of  the  Lieutenant  Governor  of  Canada, 
Patrick  Sinclair,  as  expressed  in  several  letters, 
an  extract  from  one  of  them  being  as  follows: 

"Michilimacinac,  June  4,  1  780. 
"To  Col.  Mason  Bolton: 

"Sir: — They  (the  British)  have  brought  off 
forty-three  scalps,  thirty-four  prisoners,  black 
and  white,  and  killed  about  seventy  persons. 
They  destroyed  several  hundred  cattle,  but 
were  beat  off  on  their  attacks  both  sides  of  the 
river,  at  Pencour  (St.  Louis)  and  at  Cahokia, 
owing  to  the  treachery  of  Mr.  Calve  and  the 
Sacks  and  Reynards  (Fox). 

"They  are  enraged  against  *  *  The  base 
conduct  of  the  Sacks  (Sauk),  who  have  been 
debauched  by  the  rebels  on  account  of  their 
lead  mines."  (Wis.  Hist.  Colls.  XI.,  154;  see 
also  Mich.  Pioneer  Colls.  9,  558;  Illinois  Hist. 
Colls.  VIII.) 


Black   Hawk's   Watch   Tower 


I*  a  k  e    T  w  e  n  f  y  -  s  i  x 


The  Westernmost  Campaign  of  the  Revolutionary 

War- 1780 


Gen.  George  Rogers  Clark  was  not  content 
with  the  mere  defeat  of  the  enemy  at  St.  Louis 
and  at  Cahokia.  Determined  man  that  he  was, 
he  decided  to  chastise  some  of  those  who  had 
aided  the  British  in  their  grand  scheme  of  re- 
conquest.  He  promptly  set  about  to  organize 
a  sufficiently  large  force  to  make  it  possible  to 
invade  the  stronghold  of  Indian  power  to  the 
north.  His  army  was  to  fight  and  to  burn  the 
wigwams,  and  in  general  to  fill  the  Indian  mind 
with  dread  of  American  strength. 

The  French  inhabitants  of  Illinois  had  been 
complaining  bitterly  of  their  hard  lot  in  having 
to  support  the  American  soldiers  at  a  time 
when  they  themselves  were  so  nearly  destitute. 
They  were  now  called  upon  both  for  men,  for 
money  and  supplies,  to  equip  General  Clark's 
proposed  army.  It  required  re?l  sacrifice,  but 
they  arose  to  the  emergency. 

From  both  sides  of  the  Mississippi,  a  total 
force  of  350  men  was  recruited — the  largest 
army  under  the  American  flag  in  the  history 
of  Illinois  in  the  Revolution.  They  doubtless 
expected  to  march  as  far  north  as  Prairie  du 
Chien,  but  Black  Hawk's  Watch  Tower  was 
their  farthest  north. 

Col.  John  Montgomery  was  placed  in  com- 
mand, and  his  force  came  up  the  Illinois  river 
to  Peoria,  from  which  place  they  marched 
across  the  prairies,  doubtless  following  a  well- 
worn  Indian  trail,  and  came  upon  the  Watch 
Tower  village.  It  is  reported  that  700  Sauk 
warriors  were  on  hand  here,  and  one  can 
visualize  the  tightening  of  the  muscle,  the  grim 
resolve  of  Montgomery's  men  as  they  ad- 
vanced to  the  attack.  It  must  have  seemed  as 
unnatural  as  a  dream  as  they  saw  the  large 
number  of  Sauks  withdraw  from  before  them 
and,    without    offering    resistance,     see    their 


homes  go  up  in  flames.  Historians  have  con- 
tented themselves  in  saying  that  the  Sauks  had 
"so  recently  been  defeated  they  had  no  fight 
left  in  them."  A  more  plausible  explanation 
is  that  they  did  not  wish  to  enter  into  any 
bloody  affray  with  their  friends  from  the  south. 
It  was  unfortunate,  to  say  the  least,  that  the 
Sauk,  who  had  so  recently  been  America's  best 
friend,  should  at  this  time  have  been  mistaken 
for  an  enemy. 

This  was  the  westernmost  campaign  of  the 
Revolutionary  war.  In  many  respects  it  was 
true  to  type  as  experienced  by  the  eastern 
armies.  It  had  been  recruited  under  adverse 
circumstances,  ar.d  was  so  poorly  supplied  that 
Colonel  Montgomery  could  proceed  no  farther. 
He  retreated,  smarting  under  the  defeat  of  un- 
preparedness,  and  before  reaching  the  French 
villages — their  homes — they  were  compelled, 
after  fasting  for  five  days,  to  slaughter  their 
horses  for  subsistence. 

The  Sauks  rebuilt  their  village.  Black  Hawk 
at  this  time  was  a  boy  of  thirteen  years.  Fifty- 
one  years  would  pass  and  he  would  again  see 
the  smoke  of  his  village  burning  at  the  hands 
of  American  soldiers.  In  the  meantime  those 
who  served  as  runners  in  the  campaign  against 
the  British — even  to  Milwaukee — and  those 
whose  service  to  the  American  cause  was  as 
valuable  as  that  of  any  regularly  enlisted 
patriot,  and  of  many  a  commissioned  officer, 
had  passed  on  to  the  Great  Spirit.  In  reverence 
and  sorrow  their  bodies  were  laid  to  rest  about 
their  cherished  homes  in  the  beautiful  Rock 
river  country.  It  is  well  that  we  pause  in  the 
bustle  of  Twentieth  Century  life  and  give 
thought  to  those  who  were  such  friends  when 
the   new  America  so   much   needed  a   friend. 


P  :i  •_'  c     T  \v  <•  m  t  y  -  s  c  v  e  n 


Black    Hawk's    Watch    Tower 


Indian  Trails  Centering  at 
Black  Hawk's  Village 


In  Indian  days,  all  trails  led  to  the  Sauk  vil- 
lage, and  an  excellent  ford  was  found  at  the 
foot  of  the  Watch  Tower,  where  Rock  river 
flowed  over  a  flat-rock  bottom. 

One  of  these  trails,  which  has  been  located, 
passed  up  the  left  bank  of  the  Mississippi, 
doubtless  to  the  lead  mines  about  Galena, 
which  the  Sauk  and  Fox  owned,  and  from 
which  the  Americans  and  Spaniards  secured 
lead  for  use  during  the  Revolutionary  war. 

The  trail  to  the  southwest,  to  Oquawka,  was 
doubtless  much  used  by  the  Sauk  and  Fox 
nation  in  going  to  and  from  their  hunting 
ranges  in  Missouri  and  other  points.  The 
Illinois  volunteers  came  to  the  Watch  Tower 
over  this  trail  in  both  the  1831  and  1832  cam- 
paigns of  the  Black  Hawk  war. 

Black  Hawk's  last  camp  near  his  beloved  vil- 
lage was  on  the  trail  which  followed  the  south 


side  of  Rock  river  toward  the  northeast.  This 
was  in  April,  1832.  In  May  of  the  same  year 
the  Illinois  volunteers  followed  him  over  the 
same  trail,  and  it  was  doubtless  used  by  Gen. 
Winfield  Scott's  regulars  the  following  August 
in  coming  down  from  Dixon  to  Fort  Arm- 
strong. 

The  trail  passing  by  Coal  Valley  and  Cramp- 
ton  is  known  to  history  as  "The  Great  Sauk 
Trail,"  and  led  from  the  village  at  the  Watch 
Tower  around  the  southern  bend  of  Lake 
Michigan  to  Detroit  and  to  Fort  Maiden,  at 
Amherstsberg,  Canada.  It  forked  somewhere 
near  Orion,  111.,  and  one  *part  of  it  led  to 
Peoria.  It  is  probable  that  Col.  John  Mont- 
gomery followed  this  in  1  780,  when,  with  his 
allied  army  of  350,  he  burned  the  Sauk  village. 

See  pp.  87  to  109  of  "Transactions  of  the  Illinois  State 
Historical  Society,"  for  1921. 


Black    Hawk's    Watch    Tower 


I*  a  a  e    T  w  enty-eiprht 


Gov.   William  Clark,  from  the  original   portrait   by  Gilbert   Stuart,   in   possession  of 
the  Missouri  Historical   .Society 


Governor  Clark  was  one  of  the  principals 
in  the  Lewis  and  Clark  expedition  to  the  North- 
west. In  1814,  while  taking  a  force  of  Amer- 
ican soldiers  from  St.  Louis  to  attack  the  Brit- 
ish fort  at  Prairie  du  Chien,  and  to  establish 
an  American  fort  there  in  its  stead,  he  was  at- 
tacked at  Rock  Island  by  warriors  of  Black 
Hawk's  band.    In  the  skirmish  which  followed 


a  number  of  canoes,  arms  and  some  Indians 
were  taken  by  Clark.  "Peace  was  granted  them 
(the  Indians)  on  condition  they  would  join 
against  the  enemies  of  the  United  States  and 
immediately  commence  hostilities  against  the 
Winnebagoes."  The  captives  were  ready  to 
promise  anything  in  order  to  be  released.  Car- 
rying out  the  promise  was  another  matter. 


Pa n  e    T w  enty-nine 


Black    Hawks    Watch    Tower 


*•' 


One  of  the  Old  Indian   Trails  at  the   Watoh   Toner 


The  Second  War  with  Great  Britain  — 18 12-'  14 


On  the  outbreak  of  the  second  war  with 
England,  Black  Hawk  had  reached  the  age  of 
forty-five  years,  and  was  in  the  prime  of  his 
ability  as  a  war  chief.  His  home  was  the  vil- 
lage at  the  Watch  Tower,  and  the  traditional 
site  of  his  one-time  wigwam  is  pointed  out  at 
the  western  end  of  the  Watch  Tower  bluff. 
Having  spent  the  year  of  1  8 1  3  as  a  brigadier 
general,  as  is  generally  believed,  with  the  Brit- 
ish forces  operating  about  the  Great  Lakes  to 
the  coast,  he  returned  to  his  village  for  the  year 
1814,  and  to  him  and  his  followers  are  ac- 
credited the  following  local  acts  of  hostility  to 
the  Americans: 

In  May,  1814,  a  skirmish  at  Rock  Island, 
distant  three  and  one-half  miles  from  the 
Watch  Tower,  with  an  American  fleet  under 
Governor  William  Clark,  bound  for  Prairie  du 
Chien. 


On  July  19th,  the  same  year,  the  skirmish 
at  the  head  of  Rock  Island  Rapids,  in  which 
Capt.  John  Yeiser,  commanding  the  "Gover- 
nor Clark  Gunboat  No.  1,"  saved  the  Sutler's 
and  Contractor's  barges  of  Major  Campbell's 
fleet  from  capture  by  Black  Hawk's  warriors. 

On  the  same  day,  July  19th,  Black  Hawk, 
in  person,  led  his  braves  against  Brevet  Major 
John  Campbell  in  an  all-day  fight  at  what 
since  has  been  known  as  Campbell's  Island, 
in  the  Mississippi,  nine  miles  distant  from 
Black  Hawk's  Watch  Tower.  British  officers 
reported  this  as  "the  most  brilliant  victory  of 
the  war  won  by  Indians,  unassisted  by  any 
whites.''  Siixteen  Americans  were  killed  in 
this  battle.  The  State  has  marked  this  spot 
with  a  $5,000.00  monument. 


Black    Hawks    Watch    Tower 


Page     Thirty 


Zachary  Taylor,  afterwards  President,  was  twiee  assigned  to  .Military   Service  against 
the  Sauks— 1814,  and  again  in  1832 


In  September  of  the  same  year  Major  Zach- 
ary Taylor  was  sent  with  a  fleet  of  eight  pro- 
tected barges  and  334  men  to  destroy  Black 
Hawk's  village;  to  burn  the  town  and  to  up- 
root his  growing  crops;  and,  in  addition,  to 
select  a  site  and  build  a  fort  which  was  to  be 
a  check  upon  the  Indians  of  the  upper  Mis- 
sissippi. 


Black  Hawk  did  not  wait  for  his  enemies 
to  come  within  view  from  his  Watch  Tower, 
but  had  runners,  who  had  brought  word  of 
Major  Taylor's  coming  so  far  in  advance  of 
his  arrival  there  was  time  to  secure  the  as- 
sistance of  a  battery  of  British  artillerists  and 
reinforcements  from  the  allied  tribes  to  the 
north,  giving  him  a  total  of  about  1,500  war- 
riors. 


I'  a  k:  c     T  h  i  r  t  y  -  o  n  e 


Black    Hawks    Watch    Tower 


The   Return   of  a   Sauk    War  Party — By   (atlin 
The  original  is  in  National  Museum  ;it  Washington 


With  Black  Hawk  not  only  ready,  but  happy 
at  the  prospect  of  a  real  battle,  Major  Taylor 
dropped  anchor  at  Credit  Island,  in  the  Mis- 
sissippi, opposite  the  mouth  of  the  Rock  river, 
innocent  of  what  was  in  store  for  him. 

A  hard  battle  was  anticipated,  and  all  the 
women  and  children  of  the  Watch  Tower  vil- 
lage were  sent  to  the  island  of  Rock  Island  for 
safety. 

At  daybreak  next  morning,  September  6th, 
"so  soon  as  they  commenced  firing  from  their 
artillery,  the  Indians  raised  a  yell  and  com- 
menced firing  on  us  from  every  direction." 
Taylor's  men,  with  unsurpassed  bravery,  land- 
ed, drove  the  Indians  before  them  from  a  wil- 
low island,  while  another  contingent  broke  up 
a  number  of  the  Indians'  canoes;  but,  mean- 
while, the  wind  was  so  strong  the  boats 
dragged  their  anchors  while  the   British  can- 


non, stationed  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi, were  riddling  his  fleet.  The  British 
were  good  marksmen,  and  the  Americans  were 
helpless  in  the  face  of  all  this  and  were  com- 
pelled to  withdraw. 

It  is  of  special  interest  to  note  that  all  the 
tribes  of  the  old  northwest  who  fought  in  be- 
half of  the  British  cause  in  the  Revolutionary 
war  had  representatives  in  this  battle  of  Credit 
Island,  and,  also,  that  in  the  defense  of  his 
native  village  and  fields,  Black  Hawk  had  the 
help  of  the  British.  Beyond  doubt,  this  fact 
helped  him  to  believe,  on  the  outbreak  of  the 
Black  Hawk  war,  that  he  would  again  have  all 
these  as  allies;  that  at  least  if  they  did  not  come 
to  his  village  to  assist  in  the  defense,  they 
would  certainly  receive  him  and  his  party  in 
case  he  should  be  driven  northward  by  the 
Americans. 


Black    Hawk's    Watch    Tower 


Page     Thirty-two 


Fort   Armstrong — Twenty-five  Years  After  Black  Hawk   War 


The  Building  of  Fort  Armstrong  — 1816 


Major  Taylor's  defeat,  coupled  with  other 
instances  in  which  Illinois  settlements  suf- 
fered, showed  more  than  ever  the  necessity  for 
having  a  fort  to  protect  the  settlers  down  State 
from  the  Indians  of  this  quarter. 

At  the  outbreak  of  the  War  of  1812-1814, 
Governor  Ninian  Edwards,  of  Illinois  Terri- 
tory, had  pleaded  with  the  United  States  au- 
thorities for  soldiers  and  fortifications.  He  de- 
clared that  no  part  of  the  nation  had  so  many 
hostile  Indians  on  its  borders  as  had  Illinois, 
and  that  no  part  of  the  United  States  was  so 
easy  of  access  as  the  Illinois  settlements,  for 
the  Indians  had  only  to  paddle  their  canoes 
down  the  Illinois  or  the  Mississippi  rivers. 

Not  all  of  the  Watch  Tower  Indians  were 
hostile  to  the  Americans  in  this  war,  and  those 
who  remained  friendly  were  taken  care  of  on 
the  Missouri  river,  but  Black  Hawk's  follow- 
ing alone  was  quite  formidable  and  fought  on 
the  British  side. 

The  Government  had  learned  a  costly  lesson 
in  sending  inadequate  forces  to  Black  Hawk's 
headquarters.  In  the  Campbell's  Island  battle 
1  6  Americans  were  killed  out  of  a  total  of  1  33 
men.  Major  Taylor  had  334  effectives  in  the 
Credit  Island  battle  and  had  several  wounded, 
one  of  them  fatally.  The  Indians  would  not 
welcome  a  fort  in  their  midst,  and,  therefore,  if 
one  was  to  be  built  there  must  be  military 
strength  enough  to  meet  any  opposition. 


On  May  10th,  1816,  there  landed  on  the 
island  of  Rock  Island,  a  distance  of  three  and 
one-half  miles  from  the  Watch  Tower,  Brig. 
Gen.  Thomas  A.  Smith  and  Col.  William  Law- 
rence with  700  regulars,  and  the  erection  of 
Fort  Armstrong  proceeded  under  this  strong 
guard. 

The  Indians  declined  General  Smith's  in- 
vitation to  come  and  meet  him  in  council,  but 
after  some  of  the  soldiers  had  left  the  island — 
a  stockade  having  been  built — the  natives  pro- 
fessed some  interest  and  a  degree  of  friend- 
ship, and  would  come  over  to  dance  for  the 
amusement  of  the  troops.  One  day  when  the 
soldiers  were  largely  out  in  the  woods  prepar- 
ing timbers  a  large  party  of  warriors,  with 
Tah-cal-o-quoit  at  their  head,  came  to  where 
the  fort  was  being  built,  approaching  it  from 
the  north,  and  danced  their  way  toward  the  en- 
trance of  the  encampment.  This  innocent- 
appearing  party  in  itself  caused  no  alarm,  but 
another  large  number  of  armed  braves  was 
seen  coming  from  the  south,  with  Keokuk,  of 
the  Watch  Tower  village,  at  their  head.  Im- 
mediately the  bugle  was  sounded,  recalling  the 
men  from  the  forest.  Arms  were  seized,  can- 
non were  run  out  at  the  entrance  ready  to  be 
fired,  and  it  was  believed  that  a  general  massa- 
cre was  averted  by  having  all  in  readiness  be- 
fore the  Indians  under  Keokuk  arrived. — 
(Flagler.) 


Page     Thirty-three 


Black   Hawk's   Watch   Tower 


A   Match   Tower  view,   showing   Paved    Road  to  Aledo  and    Monmouth 


The  Capital  of  a  Great  Nation 


The  village  at  the  Watch  Tower  grew  in 
population  and  in  prestige  among  the  tribes 
of  the  middle  west.  The  Sauks  were  fighters; 
their  enemies  felt  their  steel;  their  territorial 
boundaries  enlarged,  and  the  Watch  Tower  be- 
came a  capital  city  of  one  of  the  richest  em- 
pires of  Indian  days.  They  were  bound  with 
the  Fox,  or  Mesquaki,  into  a  united  tribe,  and 
it  was  estimated,  in  1816,  that  there  were 
about  eleven  thousand  Indians  belonging  to  the 
two  tribes  and  dwelling  about  the  Watch 
Tower  and  vicinity,  making  one  of  the  largest 
Indian  settlements  to  be  found  in  the  country. 
Their  hunting  grounds  included  most  of  the 
State  of  Iowa,  all  that  part  of  Missouri  which 
lies  north  of  the  Missouri  river,  southwest- 
ern Wisconsin,  and  a  large  part  of  northwest- 
ern Illinois. 

This  large  population  had  a  good  living,  de- 
rived from  a  variety  of  sources — buffalo,  deer 
and  bear   furnished   meat;    the   cultivation   of 


800  acres  of  fertile  soil  yielded  more  than  their 
own  needs  and  they  were  able  to  spare  1 ,000 
bushels  of  corn  annually,  which  they  sold  to 
the  whites  at  Fort  Armstrong  and  at  Prairie 
du  Chien.  Their  cash  crop,  or  items  which  they 
could  profitably  trade,  were  furs  and  large 
quantities  of  lead  from  their  mines  about 
Galena.  In  addition  to  all  these,  the  United 
States  Government  paid  them  annuities  for  the 
lands  which  had  been  purchased  from  them 
by  treaty.  Speaking  of  those  prosperous  years, 
Black  Hawk,  in  his  autobiography,  says: 
'  Then  we  were  as  happy  as  the  buffalo  on  the 
plains." 

With  the  friendship  of  the  British,  who  con- 
tinued to  bestow  a  pension  upon  Black  Hawk 
for  his  service  in  the  war  of  1812-1814,  to- 
gether with  friendly  tribes  to  the  north  and 
east,  who  had  helped  in  the  defeat  of  Major 
Zachary  Taylor  at  Credit  Island  in  1  8 1  4 — with 
such  friends  and  allies,   what  need  they  fear 


Black   Hawk's   Watch   Tower 


Page     Thirty -four 


The   Old   Settlers'   Association  of   Rock   Island   County,   at  the   Watch  Tower — In  their   sixty  years  of  organization  they  have 
clung  as  tenaciously  to  this  spot  for  their  annual  meetings  as  the  old  war  chief  himself 


from  any  intrusion  of  white  settlers?  True,  a 
fort  had  been  built  practically  at  their  front 
door,  but  forts  were  built  for  use  in  times  of 
strife.  The  Sauk  and  Fox  would  henceforth 
live  peaceably  with  the  whites,  and  so,  instead 
of  the  fort  being  a  hindrance,  it  would  prove 
a  benefit,  because  it  brought  with  it  a  resident 
trader,  and  the  Indian  agent,  who  had  his  office 
at  the  fort.  The  agent  served  as  ambassador 
of  the  Great  Father.  He  would  issue  passports, 
when  necessary,  for  those  who  were  to  travel 
far  from  their  hunting  grounds,  and  arranged 
trips  to  Washington  to  visit  the  Great  Father 
there.  The  agency,  in  addition,  had  on  its  staff 
an  interpreter  who  spoke  many  languages,  and 
a  blacksmith  especially  at  the  service  of  the 
Red  Man,  to  repair  his  guns,  traps  and  hoes. 

It  was  now  a  land  of  the  heart's  desire,  as 


near  perfection  as  one  could  expect  this  side 
the  Happy  Hunting  Ground.  It  was  a  time 
when  the  aged  warrior  could  relax  his  vigi- 
lance; when  the  wise  councillor  of  his  nation 
and  the  teacher  of  the  youth  could  look  with 
pride  upon  the  fruits  of  their  labor.  The 
mighty  hunter  and  champion  athlete  would 
now  be  included  as  among  the  heroes.  The 
Watch  Tower,  said  Black  Hawk,  was  their 
favorite  resort.  Here  the  throngs  gathered  on 
festive  occasions;  here  they  heard  the  French 
violinist,  and  here  the  throng,  like  their  great 
leaders,  could  "sit  and  look  with  wonder  and 
pleasure  at  the  grand  scenes  that  were  pre- 
sented by  the  sun's  rays,  even  across  the 
mighty  water." 

One    would    hardly    find    another    place    or 
tribe  so  rich  in  tradition  and  achievement. 


P  a  g  e    Thirty-five 


Black   Hawk's    Watch    Tower 


Indian  Bracelet,   with  original   Rawhide  Thong:   still  attached — From  Black   Hawk's 

Burial  Grounds 

The  Beginning  of  the  End 


A  prosperous  land  becomes  the  envy  of  the 
less  prosperous,  and  greedy  palms  itch  to  pos- 
sess the  valuable  and  the  beautiful.  The  Sauk 
corn  fields,  hundreds  of  acres  in  extent,  were 
in  contrast  to  thousands  of  other  acres  where 
the  stubborn  virgin  sod  would  require  hard 
labor  to  transform  it  into  fertile  fields.  A  simple 
hoe  in  the  hands  of  a  woman  would  bring  forth 
in  the  Sauk  fields  what  would  require  a  couple 
of  men,  a  heavy,  clumsy  plow  and  from  six  to 
a  dozen  oxen  to  accomplish  on  the  raw  prairie. 
Therefore  it  was  that  the  pioneer  farmers  set- 
tled upon  the  cultivated  lands  about  the  Watch 
Tower,  while  virgin  prairies  and  woodland, 
counties  and  counties  in  extent  in  all  directions, 
were  passed  by  unoccupied. 

In  the  fall  of  1828,  while  the  Indians  were 
away  for  their  annual  winter  hunting  and  trap- 
ping, the  first  white  settlers  came  and  moved 
into  the  Wigwams  of  their  Red  brethren. 

"During  the  winter,"  says  Black  Hawk,  "I 
received  information  that  three  families  of 
whites  had  come  to  our  village  and  destroyed 
some  of  our  lodges,  were  making  fences  and 


dividing  our  corn  fields  for  their  own  use. 
They  were  quarreling  among  themselves  about 
their  lines  of  division.  I  started  immediately 
for  Rock  river,  a  distance  of  ten  days  travel, 
and  on  my  arrival  found  the  report  true.  I 
went  to  my  lodge  and  found  a  family  occupy- 
ing it." 

This  was  the  beginning  of  the  end.  "If  a 
prophet  had  come  to  our  village  in  those  days," 
says  Black  Hawk,  "and  told  us  that  the  things 
were  to  take  place  which  have  since  come  to 
pass,  none  of  our  people  would  have  believed 
him." 

Black  Hawk's  people  returned  with  the 
spring;  more  settlers  came,  and  through  the 
seasons  of  1829,  1830  and  the  spring  of  1831, 
Indian  and  white  man  claimed  the  same  fields, 
sought  to  plant  the  same  ground;  destroyed 
each  others  fences  and  crops,  and  sometimes 
came  to  blows.  Most  cruel  to  the  Indian  was 
the  white  intruder's  heartless  practice  of  plow- 
ing up  the  Indian  graves.  The  situation  was 
intolerable  to  both  races,  and  it  is  a  wonder 
that  no  one  was  killed. 


Black    Hawk's    Watch    Tower 


v  a 


Thirty-six 


A  Hopeless  Cause  — 1829-1831 


Doubtless  the  War  Chief  never  worked  so 
hard  in  all  his  life  as  he  did  now,  trying  to  solve 
their  difficulties  in  such  a  way  that  his  people 
might  remain.  Council  after  council  here  and 
at  a  distance  was  held;  runners  were  sent  to 
the  Arkansas,  Red  River  and  Texas;  delega- 
tions were  sent  to  a  great  chief  on  the  Wabash; 
Black  Hawk,  in  person,  visited  his  friends  at 
Fort  Maiden,  Canada,  and  at  Detroit.  Wam- 
pum belts  and  strands  were  carried  to  the 
various  tribes  who  had  helped  him  at  Credit 
Island  in  1814  and  who  had  aided  the  British 
through  these  parts  in  1779-1780.  Those 
unfamiliar  with  the  facts,  hearing  only  his  side 
of  the  case,  naturally  advised  him  to  remain; 
while  the  commandant  at  Fort  Armstrong,  the 
Indian  agent  there,  and  the  interpreter  and 
trader,  all  advised  him  to  the  contrary. 

"The  prospect  before  us  was  a  bad  one," 
says  Black  Hawk.  "I  fasted  and  called  upon 
the  Great  Spirit  to  direct  my  steps  to  the  right 
path.  I  was  in  great  sorrow,  because  all  the 
whites  with  whom  I  was  acquainted  and  had 
been  on  terms  of  intimacy  advised  me  con- 
trary to  my  wishes.  *  *  *  Our  people  were 
treated   very   badly   by    the    whites    on    many 


occasions. 


rj*  rj*  rj-. 


"Our  women  had  planted  a  few  patches  of 
corn,  which  was  growing  finely  and  promised 
a  subsistence  for  our  children,  but  the  white 
people  again  commenced  plowing  it  up.  I 
now  determined  to  put  a  stop  to  it  by  clearing 
our  country  of  the  intruders.  I  went  to  their 
principal  men  and  told  them  that  they  should 
and  must  leave  our  country." 

This  ultimatum  called  forth  another  broad- 
side of  petitions  to  the  governor,  who,  besides 
calling  out  the  militia,  wrote  to  General  Clark, 
Superintendent  of  Indian  Affairs,  at  St.  Louis, 
and  also  to  Major-Gen.  Edmund  P.  Gaines  at 
Jefferson  Barracks,  saying:  "The  section  of 
this  State  near  Rock  Island  is  actually  invaded 
by  a  hostile  band  of  Sauk  Indians,  headed  by 


Black  Hawk,  and  in  order  to  repel  said  inva- 
sion," etc. 

General  Gaines  came  to  Fort  Armstrong, 
and,  on  June  5,  1831,  summoned  Black  Hawk 
and  other  chiefs  to  appear  in  council  before 
him.  Black  Hawk  and  his  braves  appeared, 
"singing  the  war  song  and  armed  with  lances, 
spears,  war  clubs,  bows  and  arrows,  as  if  going 
to  battle."  After  a  stormy  session,  General 
Gaines  notified  the  hostiles  as  follows:  "I 
came  here  neither  to  beg  nor  hire  you  to  leave 
your  village.  My  business  is  to  remove  you — 
peaceably  if  I  can,  forcibly  if  I  must.  I  will  now 
give  you  two  days  in  which  to  remove,  and  if 
you  do  not  cross  the  Mississippi  by  that  time 
I  will  adopt  measures  to  force  you  away."  To 
which  Black  Hawk  retorted,  "I  will  not  leave 
my  village.    I  am  determined  not  to  leave  it." 

Like  heroes  of  the  Old  Testament,  Black 
Hawk  sought  the  prophet  for  advice.  In  the 
eventful  years  of  an  active  life,  his  had  been 
the  winning  side.  The  word  defeat  was  scarce- 
ly in  his  vocabulary.  To  think  of  losing  now 
without  an  effort  was  out  of  the  question. 

The  prophet  dreamed,  as  prophets  do,  and  in 
his  dream  it  was  shown  him  what  must  be  done 
to  melt  the  heart  of  the  war  chief  at  the  Fort. 
Black  Hawk  saw  to  it  that  the  prophets  direc- 
tions were  carried  out,  as  follows:  The  daugh- 
ter of  a  village  chief  was  to  go,  staff  in  hand,  to 
the  war  chief  at  Fort  Armstrong  and  tell  him 
that  she  was  the  daughter  of  one  who  had  al- 
ways been  a  friend  to  the  white  man.  "The 
whites  are  numerous  and  can  take  the  land 
from  us  if  they  choose,  but  we  hope  they  will 
not  be  so  unfriendly.  If  they  are,  I  have  one 
favor  to  ask — that  my  people  be  allowed  to 
remain  long  enough  to  gather  provisions  now 
growing  in  the  fields."  The  plea,  eloquent  with 
earnestness,  appeared  not  to  have  had  any 
effect  on  General  Gaines.  He  was  a  soldier, 
stern  in  the  performance  of  duty.  After  listen- 
ing to  her  appeal,  he  replied:  "The  President 
did  not  send  me  here  to  make  treaties  with 
women  nor  to  hold  council  with  them." 


P  0 


T  h-irty-se  v  e  n 


Black    Hawk's    Watch    Tower 


Vandruff's  Island,  the  scene  of  Expected  Battle,  as  view  from  Black   Hawk's   Watch  Tower 


The  Campaign  of  1831 


It  was  plain  that  nothing  short  of  a  superior 
military  force  •would  induce  the  Indians  to 
leave  their  ancient  village  and  fields.  Governor 
Reynolds,  of  Illinois,  called  for  volunteers. 
"The  troops,  among  the  best  in  the  country, 
came  flocking  in  until  the  number  was  swelled 
to  near  threefold  700,  the  force  first  called  for." 
—  (Reynolds.)  They  left  the  encampment 
near  Rushville  the  1  5th  day  of  June,  and  in 
four  days  of  a  pleasant  and  prosperous  march 
reached  the  Mississippi  at  the  present  site  of 
Andalusia.  This  large  body  of  volunteers  made 
an  impressive  appearance.  Governor  Reynolds 
says  of  it:  "The  brigade  organized,  and  march- 
ing in  the  large  prairies  toward  Rock  Island 
made  a  grand  display."  Governor  Ford,  in  his 
history,  says  of  it:  "This  was  the  largest  mili- 
tary force  of  Illinoisans  which  had  ever  been 


assembled  in  the  State,  and  made  an  imposing 
appearance  as  it  traversed  the  then  unbroken 
wilderness  of  prairie." 

On  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi,  eight  miles 
below  the  Watch  Tower,  they  were  met  by 
Gen.  Edmund  P.  Gaines  and  were  received  into 
the  service  of  the  United  States. 

The  morning  of  June  20th  the  volunteer 
army  moved  upon  Black  Hawk's  village.  The 
regulars,  too,  advanced  from  Fort  Armstrong 
— some  by  steamboat  up  Rock  river,  and  cast 
anchor  about  where  the  present  bridges  are, 
while  nine  companies  of  regulars,  under  Major 
John  Bliss,  marched  to  the  top  of  Black  Hawks 
Watch  Tower,  led  there  by  the  local  volunteer 
company  of  men  and  boys  who  had  settled 
within    Black    Hawk's    town    and    had    now 


Black   Hawk's   Watch    Tower 


Page     Thirty-eight 


formed  a  company,  called  the  "Rock  River 
Rangers."  They  planted  their  cannon  at  the 
brow  of  the  Tower  and  cannonaded  Vandruffs 
Island,  which  lay  just  below;  the  artillery 
aboard  the  steamboat  doing  the  same.  All 
effort  was  centered  upon  this  island,  as  it  was 
believed  the  Indians  were  in  hiding  in  the  dense 
thickets  here,  hoping  to  decoy  the  soldiers  into 
an  ambush. 

Thomas  Ford,  afterward  governor  of  Illinois, 
was  serving  with  a  spy  battalion  and  was  with 
those  at  the  head  of  the  skirmishers.  We  will 
let  him  tell  the  story: 

"A  battle  was  expected  to  be  fought  that 
day  on  Vandruffs  Island,  opposite  the  Indian 
town.  The  plan  was  for  the  volunteers  to 
ci oss  the  slough  onto  this  island;  give  battle 
to  the  enemy,  if  found  there,  and  then  to  ford 
the  main  river  into  the  town,  where  they  were 
to  be  met  by  the  regular  force  coming  down 


from  the  fort.  The  island  was  covered  with 
bushes  and  vines  so  as  to  be  impenetrable  to 
the  sight  at  the  distance  of  twenty  feet.  Gen- 
eral Gaines  ran  his  steamboat  up  to  the  point  of 
the  island  and  fired  several  rounds  of  grape 
and  canister  shot  into  it  to  test  the  presence 
of  the  enemy.  The  spy  battalion  formed  in 
line  of  battle  and  swept  the  island.  The  main 
body  of  the  volunteers,  in  three  columns,  came 
following  the  spies.  I  saw  the  artillery  force 
from  the  fort  stationed  on  the  high  bluff  (Black 
Hawk's  Watch  Tower)  on  the  opposite  side 
of  the  river."— (1  12-1  14  Hist,  of  111.,  Ford.) 

Beyond  question,  many  a  volunteer  that  day 
was  terribly  fearful  of  what  another  moment 
might  bring  forth.  The  deadly  fighting  qual- 
ities of  Black  Hawk's  warriors  was  known. 
More  than  ever  would  they  fight  with  despera- 
tion now  that  they  were  defending  their  homes. 
The  white  man's  army  was  at  this  point  prac- 
tically in  the  midst  of  their  village. 


The  Indians'  Escape  — 1831 


Imposing  as  the  Illinois  volunteers  appeared 
to  their  own  members,  they  did  not  look  less 
so  to  the  Indians.  Black  Hawk's  spies  came 
in,  reporting  the  approach  of  a  war  party  in 
large  numbers.  A  combination  of  regulars  and 
volunteers  was  bad  from  the  Indian's  point  of 
view.  The  regular  might  overcome  an  enemy, 
but  he  would  respect  the  rights  of  the  defeated. 
The  volunteer  was  undisciplined;  he  could  not 
be  held  in  check  by  his  superior  officers,  and  in 
case  of  victory  he  would  massacre  indiscrimi- 
nately. 

The  odds  against  the  Indian  were  too  great, 
and  so  Black  Hawk  was  not  found  on  the  day 
of  expected  battle.  In  the  dead  of  night,  June 
1  9th,  a  large  population,  with  horses,  dogs  and 
all,  successfully  made  their  escape  down  Rock 
river  to  the  Mississippi  and  across  the  broad 
Father  of  Waters  to  the  west  side. 

There  was  an  army — doubtless  with  out- 
posts— a  few  miles  below,  and  another  at  the 
fort  a  couple  of  miles  above  the  mouth  of 
Rock  river,  and  yet  the  escape  of  the  Indians 
was  not  detected. 

Voices  carry  far  over  quiet  waters  at  night. 
The  soldiers  heard  none.  Horses  and  dogs 
must  swim,  and,  with  canoes  filled  with  the 
aged  and  camp  supplies  and  equipment,   the 


younger  people,  too,  would  have  to  swim  the 
river. 

A  Sauk  woman  a  few  years  ago  related  to 
the  writer  a  story  which  showed  the  severity 
of  her  people  in  cases  where  extreme  caution 
was  necessary.  She  did  not  know  where  the 
incident  occurred,  it  may  have  been  the  occa- 
sion— for  it  was  one  like  it — referred  to  in  this 
chapter.  The  story  was  as  follows:  "One  time 
our  people  were  making  their  escape  down  a 
river.  There  were  soldiers  nearby,  on  both 
sides  the  river,  and  all  were  cautioned  to  be 
quiet  to  escape  detection.  One  of  the  women 
talked — perhaps  she  had  left  something  in 
camp.  She  was  warned  to  be  quiet.  She  talked 
again.  She  was  struck  over  the  head  with  a 
paddle  and  let  gently  down  into  the  water,  so 
as  not  to  make  a  splash,  and  was  never  seen 
again." 

No  one  knew  better  than  Black  Hawk  the 
slaughter  of  his  people  which  would  take  place 
if  the  volunteers  discovered  them  in  the  act  of 
escaping  across  the  river,  and  it  is  probable 
that  every  bosom  was  filled  with  the  same 
dread.  Only  a  year  later  the  Illinois  soldiery 
did  destroy  the  lives  of  men,  women  and  chil- 
dren as  they  were  frantically  trying  to  swim 
the  great  river  to  safety. 


Page    Thlrty-ni  n e 


Black    Hawk's    Watch    Tower 


Twelfth   Street,    Kock    Island,    where    it    passes   through   the   heart   of   tlie    Sauk    Village    at    Forty-fifth   Avenue — This    street 

crosses  the  Rock  river  bridges,  a  few   hundred  yards  below  the   Watch   Tower   Point,   and   is 

part  of  the  paved   road   to  Aledo  and   Monmouth 


The  Final  Destruction  of  Black  Hawk's  Village  — 1831 


As  the  Illinois  volunteers,  in  battle  array, 
reached  the  north  side  of  VandrufF's  Island, 
they  knew  that  somehow  Black  Hawk  had 
escaped.  The  terrific  tension  under  which  some 
of  them  had  labored  in  crossing  the  island  was 
relieved.  Some  could  not  have  told  whether 
they  were  more  disappointed  than  pleased,  for 
they  had  come  for  a  fight. 

It  is  believed  by  some  that  had  Black  Hawk 
and  his  braves  been  found  on  the  island  there 
would  have  been  a  panic  among  the  main  body 
of  the  volunteers.  The  spy  battalion,  in  line  of 
battle,  evidently  kept  its  formation,  but  the 
main  body  of  the  volunteers,  which  had  fol- 
lowed the  spies  in  three  columns,  became  con- 
fused among  bushes  and  vines,  and  "before 
they  had  got  to  the  northern  side  of  the  island 


they  were  so  jammed  up  and  mixed  together, 
officers  and  men,  that  no  man  knew  his  own 
company  or  regiment,  or  scarcely  himself."  So 
says  Ford,  who  was  present  and  who  wrote  an 
account  of  it  in  his  history  of  Illinois.  It  is  pos- 
sible that  a  few  determined  Indians  could  have 
started  a  stampede  in  an  unorganized  and  un- 
disciplined crowd  of  men. 

We  quote  Ford  as  to  the  next  step  in  the 
procedure  of  the  army,  as  follows: 

"The  enemy  having  escaped,  the  volunteers 
were  determined  to  be  avenged  upon  some- 
thing. The  rain  descended  in  torrents,  and  the 
Indian  wigwams  would  have  furnished  a  com- 
fortable shelter;  but  notwithstanding  the  rain, 
the  whole  town  was  wrapped  in  flames,  and 
thus    perished    an   ancient    village    which    had 


Black    Hawk's   Watch    Tower 


Page     Forty 


once  been  the  delightful  home  of  six  or  seven 
thousand  Indians;  where  generation  after  gen- 
eration had  been  born,  had  died  and  been 
buried;  where  the  old  men  had  taught  wisdom 
to  the  young;  whence  the  Indian  youth  had 
often  gone  out  in  parties  to  hunt  or  to  war, 
and  then  returned  in  triumph  to  dance  around 
the  spoils  of  the  forest  or  the  scalps  of  their 
enemies;  and  where  the  dark-eyed  Indian 
maidens,   by  their  presence  and  charms,   had 


made  it  a  scene  of  delightful  enchantment  to 
many  an  admiring  warrior." 

With  nothing  left  to  destroy,  the  volunteers 
went  into  camp  for  the  night,  and  next  morn- 
ing marched  to  Rock  Island. 

Thus,  without  bloodshed,  ended  the  1 83 1 
campaign  of  the  Black  Hawk  war.  But  in  the 
strains  of  victory  there  was  this  discordant 
note: 

"He  who  fights  and  runs  away, 
May  live  to  fight  another  day." 


Black  Hawk  Touches  the  Goose  Quill — 1831 


The  regulars,  when  it  was  found  that  the 
Indians  had  escaped,  returned  to  Fort  Arm- 
strong. The  volunteers,  next  morning,  came 
from  the  ruins  of  Black  Hawk's  town  and 
marched  to  Rock  Island,  grandly  indifferent  to 
trails,  pasture  or  field,  and  thus  destroyed  some 
of  the  fields  of  wheat  across  which  they  rode, 
1 ,600  strong. 

Setting  up  camp  where  the  City  of  Rock 
Island  now  stands,  they  fed  their  camp-fires 
with  rails  from  the  farmers'  fences.  One  of 
the  farmers  had  twenty  acres  in  corn  and 
potatoes,  and  took  his  complaint  to  headquar- 
ters. Governor  Reynolds  and  General  Gaines, 
with  a  high  sense  of  their  responsibility,  visited 
the  field,  warned  them  not  to  take  the  fences, 
and  then  turned  their  backs  and  proceeded  to 
other  business.  The  volunteers  "to  the  num- 
ber of  400  or  500,  took  each  a  rail  on  his 
shoulder  and  marched  behind  the  governor  and 
general  into  camp.  By  this  operation,"  relates 
the  pioneer  farmer,  "I  lost  all  my  crop,  *  * 
the  soldiers  doing  me  ten  times  as  much  dam- 
age as  the  Indians  had  ever  done." 

There  were  other  diversions.  The  1 ,600 
horses  of  the  volunteers  were  being  herded  for 
the  night  at  a  bend  in  the  Mississippi  just  be- 
low their  camp.     Up  came  a   steamboat   and 


blew  its  whistle.  The  horses  stampeded  and 
scattered  for  miles,  so  that  Black  Hawk's  old 
village  site  was  again  filled  with  a  swarm  of 
soldiers,  this  time  hunting  their  mounts. 

Of  real  importance,  however,  was  the  coun- 
cil held  at  Fort  Armstrong.  General  Gaines  let 
it  be  known  to  the  fugitive  war  chief  that  he 
would  not  trifle  with  his  whims.  Either  he 
would  come  to  the  fort  voluntarily  or  the  sol- 
diers would  be  sent  for  him. 

"In  a  few  days,"  says  Reynolds,  "Black 
Hawk  and  the  chiefs  and  head  men  to  the  num- 
ber of  twenty-eight  appeared  in  Fort  Arm- 
strong, and  on  the  30th  of  June,  1831,  in  full 
council  with  General  Gaines  and  myself  signed 
the  treaty."  In  this  treaty  Black  Hawk  and 
his  men  agreed,  among  other  things,  to  reside 
west  of  the  Mississippi;  never  to  return  to  the 
east  side  of  the  Mississippi  without  express  per- 
mission of  the  proper  authorities.  They  were 
to  abandon  all  communication  with  the  British; 
never  again  to  admit  among  them  any  trader 
other  than  those  licensed  by  the  Americans, 
and  to  submit  peaceably  to  those  Sauk  and  Fox 
chiefs  who  were  friendly  to  the  United  States. 
"I  touched  the  goose  quill  to  this  treaty,"  says 
Black  Hawk,  "and  was  determined  to  live  in 
peace." 


I'  a  k  e     Forty-one 


Black   Hawk's    Watch    Tower 


Showing  a  Bit  of  tlie  173  Acres  of  the  Watch  Tower   Tract  as  it   Appears   Today — It  is  rich  in 

Forest,   Wild  Flowers  and  Bird   Life 


1832  Black  Hawk  War— The  Alarm 


The  second  year  of  the  Black  Hawk  war  is 
an  entirely  different  story  from  that  of  the 
1831  campaign.  There  was  much  bloodshed, 
several  hundred  whites  and  nearly  a  thousand 
Indians  losing  their  lives.  The  severe  hardships 
of  the  war  were  participated  in  by  such  well- 
known  soldiers  as  Gen.  Winfield  Scott,  Gen. 
Henry  Atkinson  and  Col.  Zachary  Taylor. 
There  were  others  whose  names  were  to  be 
written  prominently  in  the  nation's  annals, 
but  who,  in  this  campaign,  were  making  their 
first  appearance  on  the  stage  of  warfare. 
Among  these  were  Capt.  Abraham  Lincoln, 
Lieut.  Jefferson  Davis,  Lieut.  Robert  Ander- 
son, Lieut.  Albert  Sydney  Johnston  and  Lieut. 


Joseph  Eggleston  Johnston,  all  of  them  to  be- 
come stars  of  the  first  magnitude  in  the  Civil 
war. 

It  appears  from  his  autobiography  that  Black 
Hawk  had  decided,  now  that  he  had  been  forced 
from  his  village,  to  make  the  most  of  his  exile: 
"I  called  upon  the  Indian  Agent  and  requested 
him  to  have  a  small  log  house  built  for  me, 
and  a  field  plowed  that  fall,  as  I  wished  to  live 
retired.  He  promised  to  have  it  done.  I  then 
went  to  the  trader,  Colonel  Davenport  (who 
had  purchased  the  Watch  Tower  lands)  and 
asked  him  for  permission  to  be  buried  in  the 
graveyard  at  our  village,  among  my  old  friends 


Black   Hawk's   Watch    Tower 


Page     Forty -two 


and  warriors,  which  he  gave  cheerfully.    I  then 
returned  to  my  people  satisfied.'' 

The  spirit  of  Black  Hawk  seems  to  have 
been  effectively  humbled,  but  not  so  with  his 
chief  lieutenants,  Neapope  and  the  Prophet. 
They  were  younger  in  years,  had  more  of  the 
buoyancy  and  recklessness  of  youth,  and  eager 
for  a  real  trial  at  arms  with  the  whites.  The 
name  "Black  Hawk"  had  a  prestige,  and  this 
they  would  capitalize  and  have  him  lead  the 
cause.  He  was  perfectly  willing,  eager,  in  fact, 
as  they  assured  him  that  the  British  had  prom- 
ised guns,  ammunition,  provisions  and  cloth- 
ing early  in  the  spring,  and  that  the  wampum 
and  tobacco  had  been  received  from  the  power- 
ful nations  on  the  Great  Lakes,  the  Ottawas, 
Chippewas  and  Pottawatomies,  and  as  for  the 
Winnebagoes,  they  were  all  at  his  command. 

"I  thought  over  everything,"  says  the  auto- 
biography, "and  was  pleased  to  think  that  by 
a  little  exertion  on  my  part  I  could  accomplish 
all  my  wishes.  *  *  *  I  concluded  I  had 
better  keep  my  band  together  and  recruit  as 
many  more  as  possible,  so  that  I  would  be  pre- 
pared to  make  the  attempt  to  rescue  my  village 
in  the  spring." 


BLACK  HAWK  CROSSED  THE 
MISSISSIPPI! 

Black  Hawk  crossed  the  Mississippi  on  April 
6th,  1 832,  and  headed  northward  toward  his 
old  village  at  the  Watch  Tower.  With  him  were 
500  well  armed  and  well  mounted  braves.  The 
old  men,  women  and  children  of  his  party 
tiaveled  in  canoes  toward  the  same  goal. 

This  was  the  most  startling  piece  of  news 
since  the  declaration  of  war  with  Great  Britain 
ir  1812.  Runners  carried  the  news  to  the  re- 
motest part  of  the  old  northwestern  wilderness. 
Ambitious  warriors  hailed  it  as  an  opportunity 
to  win  glory;  wise  old  chiefs  considered  well 
their  patriotic  duty  and  prospects  of  success. 

In  the  State  of  Illinois,  "the  whole  northern 
frontiers  were  alarmed,  and  almost  daily  mes- 
sengers reached  my  residence  in  Belleville  with 
the  above  information.  *  *  *  It  spread  a 
general  panic  throughout  the  whole  frontiers, 
from  the  Mississippi  to  Lake  Michigan.     *     * 


Many  settlers,  in  the  greatest  terror  of  the  In- 
dians, abandoned  their  homes  and  farms,  and 
moved  into  the  interior  of  the  State,"  so  wrote 
Governor  Reynolds. 

In  Indiana  and  Michigan,  "Everywhere 
preparations  were  made  for  the  emergency. 
Farmers  were  obliged  to  abandon  their  spring 
work,  and  instead  of  plowing  and  planting, 
were  summoned  to  meet  with  such  arms  as 
they  could  command  at  some  rendezvous,  and 
then  prepare  by  organization  and  drilling  for 
the  expected  emergency."  In  southern  Mich- 
igan "the  stages,  which  had  been  overcrowded 
with  land  seekers,  were  taken  off  for  want  of 


passengers, 


rft  *ft  rf. 


and  many  families  that 
intended  to  make  Michigan  their  home  were 
caused  to  settle  in  Ohio  instead."  (2  M.  P.  C., 
294-5.)  In  the  country  near  Battle  Creek, 
Michigan,  "The  community,  both  whites  and 
Indians,  were  exceedingly  excited.  *  *  * 
Five  hundred  Indians  met  in  council  within 
twenty-five  miles  of  Dry  Prairie,  and  the  whites 
were  called  upon  for  defense  of  the  country." 
Governor  Brown  ordered  the  militia  to  be 
called  out.  A  company  of  volunteers  was 
raised  near  Detroit,  which  started  for  the  seat 
of  war  on  foot. 

In  Missouri,  "The  horrible  atrocities  com- 
mitted by  the  Indians  alarmed  the  whole  of 
the  pioneer  settlers  and  they  deserted  their 
homes  *  *  *  leaving  their  homes  and 
property  unprotected.  The  Governor  ordered 
Major-General  Gentry  to  raise,  without  delay, 
one  thousand  mounted  volunteers  for  the  de- 
fense of  the  frontiers,  to  be  held  in  readiness 
to  start  at  a  moment's  warning."  (101,  Hist. 
Mo.,  Davis  &  Dorrie.) 

"Eleven  tribes  had  confederated  in  this  war 
and  agreed  to  stand  by  the  Sauk  chief,"  says 
Schoolcraft  (I.  Minn.  Hist.  Soc.  Colls.,  p  97). 

In  general,  one  fancies  that  the  following  de- 
scribed scene  was  typical  of  those  days,  and  one 
which  was  repeated  over  and  over  again  in 
many  communities,  as  follows: 

"A  man  came  from  the  west  on  horseback 
as  fast  as  he  could  ride,  with  his  horse  white 
with  lather  and  foam,  and  yelling  at  the  top  of 
his  voice,  'Black  Hawk  and  his  redskins.  They 
are  coming,  murdering  men,  women  and  chil- 
dren."   (6  Mich.  Pioneer  Collections,  p.  239.) 


I'  a  g  e     K  "  r  t  y  -  t  h  t  e  e 


Black   Hawk's    Watch    Tower 


The  Sauk  and    Fox    Were    Fighters — By    t'atlin 

The  original  in  National  Museum  at  Washington,  D.  C. 

Faith,  Hope  and  Courage — 1832 


"Black  Hawk  and  his  people  crossed  the  Mis- 
sissippi at  Burlington  and  came  up,  as  usual, 
with  their  canoes  and  horses,"  says  John  W. 
Spencer,  who  in  the  past  three  and  a  half  years 
had  become  well  acquainted  with  them  and 
their  customs.  He  had  lived  in  the  same  village 
with  them.  He  knew  their  troubles,  and  sym- 
pathized with  them. 

The  Indians  moved  up  the  Mississippi  slow- 
ly, keeping  together  as  much  as  possible.  As 
they  were  encamped  eight  miles  below  the 
Watch  Tower,  where  Andalusia  is  today,  a 
steamboat  passed  up  the  river  bearing  Gen. 
Henry  Atkinson  and  a  regiment  of  regulars  to 
Fort  Armstrong.  "Our  party  became  alarmed," 
says  Black  Hawk,  "expecting  to  meet  the  sol- 


diers at  Rock  river  to  prevent  us  from  going 
up.  On  our  arrival  at  its  mouth,  about  six  miles 
from  Andalusia,  we  discovered  that  the  steam- 
boat had  passed  on. 

"I  was  fearful  that  the  War  Chief  (Atkin- 
son) had  stationed  his  men  on  some  high  bluff 
or  in  some  ravine,  that  we  might  be  taken  by 
surprise.  Consequently,  on  entering  Rock 
river  we  commenced  beating  our  drums  and 
singing,  to  show  the  Americans  we  were  not 
afraid." 

As  they  came  in  sight  of  the  Watch  Tower 
one  can  imagine  them  straining  their  eyes  to 
see  if  soldiers  were  in  evidence,  for  they  would 
recall  that  a  year  before  they  saw  the  smoke 


Black    Hawk's    Watch    Tower 


Page     Forty-four 


Toward   the  Ipper   Kntl  of  the   Watch   Tower 


of  cannon  rising  from  the  Tower  as  Vandruff's 
Island  was  being  swept  with  grape  and  can- 
nister.  The  Watch  Tower  was  probably  the 
place  Black  Hawk  had  in  mind  when  he  said 
they  feared  General  Atkinson  had  stationed 
his  men  on  a  high  bluff. 

"When  Black  Hawk  and  his  people  were 
nearly  up  to  where  Milan  now  stands  (just 
across  from  the  Watch  Tower)  I  crossed  the 
river  by  fording,  to  see  if  I  could  ascertain  their 
movements.  The  first  Indians  I  saw  were  four 
young  men.  They  had  fine  looking  guns  and 
seemed  to  be  well  armed.  One  of  them  was 
Black  Hawk's  son,  Na-se-us-kuk,  who  was  one 
of  the  finest  looking  Indians  I  ever  saw.  He 
was  about  thirty  years  of  age  and  a  splendid 
looking  fellow.  I  asked  him  where  they  were 
going.  He  answered  by  saying,  'May  be  they 
should  go  over  to  their  old  village,  or  they 
might  stop  where  they  were,  or  go  up  Rock 


river  to  Prophetstown.'  Na-se-us-kuk  asked 
me  if  there  were  many  soldiers  at  the  fort.  I 
told  him  there  were  a  great  many." — (Spen- 
cer.) 

They  made  camp  at  the  upper  edge  of  their 
old  village,  about  the  place  where  the  line  be- 
tween Moline  and  Rock  Island  strikes  Rock 
river,  and  that  night  Black  Hawk  and  his 
braves  rode  over  the  wooded  bluffs  and  forded 
the  slough  to  the  island  of  Rock  Island.  The 
watchmen  stationed  at  the  ford  recognized 
Black  Hawk  —  perhaps  the  recognition  was 
mutual — and  hastened  to  the  fort  to  give  the 
alarm.  A  violent  snow-storm  was  in  progress, 
and  with  it,  so  it  is  said,  was  lightning  and 
thunder.  This,  coupled  with  some  cannon  shot 
at  the  fort  greatly  alarmed  the  settlers,  who 
were  gathered  within  a  stockade  at  the  Trader's 
establishment,  a  half  mile  from  the  fort.  They 
believed  a  battle  was  in  progress.    But  the  In- 


]>il 


F  orty-fiv e 


Black    Hawk's    Watch    Tower 


dians  withdrew  without  making  any  demon- 
stration, and  quietness  again  settled  over  the 
scene. 

"The  next  morning,"  says  Spencer,  "at  the 
old  fort  we  could  hear  them  beating  their 
drums  and  singing  so  plainly  that  they  seemed 
but  a  short  distance  from  us.  They  were  prob- 
ably five  miles  distant,  and  it  was  quite  remark- 
able, the  country  being  so  hilly  betv/een  them 
and  us,  that  we  should  hear  them  so  distinct- 

ly." 

General  Atkinson  sent  an  express  after  the 
Indians,  demanding  that  they  return  to  the 
west  of  the  Mississippi.  Black  Hawk  sent  re- 
ply, he  would  not  return.  Another  express  was 
sent,  as  the  Indians  continued  up  Rock  river, 
and  this  aroused  the  fighting  spirit  of  the  war- 
riors, and  the  reply  went  back,  "If  you  wish 
to  fight,  come  on." 

They  continued  up  Rock  river  to  the  town 
of  the  Prophet,  forty  miles  above  the  Watch 
Tower.  Every  step  of  the  horse,  every  stroke 
of  the  paddle  took  them  nearer  those  who  had 
urged  them  to  come  and  be  friends  and  neigh- 
bors. Here  they  would  probably  remain  for 
the  summer  and  grow  their  usual  crop  of  corn, 
beans,  pumpkins  and  other  vegetables.  The 
presence  of  General  Atkinson  and  his  regulars 
at  Fort  Armstrong  had  made  their  present 
plans  uncertain.  One  thing,  however,  was 
sure.  They  had  the  pledge  of  a  dozen  tribes 
that  they  would  stand  together  in  defense  of 
their  rights,  and  over  all  was  the  assurance  that 
their  British  father,  as  of  old,  was  still  their 
friend.    Though  they  were  wanderers  for  the 


SI  rands  of   Wampum   with  a  Package  of   Kinickiniek  and   Some 
Vermilion   Attached 

This  was  sent  to  Chief  Robinson,  of  the  Potawatomies,  by 

Black  Hawk  in  1S32.    This  relic  is  in   possession 

of  Chicago  Historical  Society. 

present,  there  was  much  to  warm  the  heart,  to 
give  strength  to  their  bodies,  and  to  enlarge 
their  faith,  hope  and  courage. 


Disillusioned^  1832 


Just  one  month  had  passed  since  the  Sauks 
had  come  up  the  Mississippi  and  entered  the 
mouth  of  Rock  river,  beating  their  drums  and 
singing  to  show  the  Americans  they  were  not 
afraid.  They  were  now  aware  that  they  had 
been  betrayed.  There  was  no  hope  left  of 
any  assistance,  and  with  the  country  filled 
with  pale-face  soldiers,  only  one  course  was 
open.  To  surrender;  to  acknowledge  their  be- 
trayal; to  return  to  the  west  side  of  the  Missis- 
sippi, never  again  to  return. 

The  entire  affair  of  the  1  832  campaign  thus 
far  was  no  different  from  that  of  campaigns, 


political  and  otherwise,  except  for  actual  lives 
involved,  of  thousands  of  men  of  all  national- 
ities and  races.  A  man  with  a  lifelong  reputa- 
tion for  honesty  and  sound  judgment  invests 
his  all,  under  persuasion — and  loses.  His 
neighbor,  with  the  same  reputation,  is  induced 
to  run  for  office.  All  his  acquaintances  pledge 
support.  He  cannot  believe  his  eyes  when  the 
election  returns  come  in,  and  cries,  "I've  been 
betrayed." 

The  speed  with  which  the  whites  had  taken 
up  arms  when  news  of  Black  Hawk's  crossing 
the    Mississippi    was    sent    abroad;    the    great 


Black    Hawk's   Watch    Tower 


Page    Forty -six 


Hikers  on   Watch  Tower  Grounds — It  is  not    Unusual  to   Inearth  Indian   Remains  in 
Excavations  for  Buildings,  etc. 


number  of  volunteers  from  all  sides,  and  their 
grim  determination,  had  a  deadening  effect 
upon  the  spirit  of  those  who  had  promised  sup- 
port to  the  Sauks,  and  with  one  accord  all 
promises  were  ignored. 

To  Black  Hawk's  people  there  was  the  bit- 
terness of  gall.  At  Prophetstown,  the  very  first 
Indian  village  above  the  Watch  Tower,  where 
lived  the  Prophet,  who  had,  perhaps,  more 
than  any  other  one  person,  been  responsible 
for  inducing  the  Sauk  to  return;  where  of  all 
places  they  should  have  been  welcomed,  they 
were  met  with  a  chill.  The  indignant  Black 
Hawk  asked:  "Did  you  not  send  us  wampum, 
and  request  us  to  come?"  The  Prophet's  vil- 
lage was  left  with  a  heavy  heart.  The  recep- 
tion was  all  so  different  from  what  they  had 
expected. 


Pursuing  his  quest  further,  Black  Hawk  next 
arranged  a  meeting  with  Chief  Shabbona,  of 
the  Potawatomies,  and,  that  all  might  be  in 
regular  form,  he  prepared  a  dog  feast  for  the 
occasion.  It  is  believed  that  Shabbona,  like 
most  of  the  others,  had  given  encouragement 
to  Black  Hawk's  coming,  but  whether  or  not, 
he  was  now  aware  that  the  cause  was  hopeless 
and  wanted  to  take  his  place  with  the  winning 
side.  He  refused  to  support  the  invaders.  It 
was  the  last  straw. 

With  the  Winnebagoes  and  the  Potawato- 
mies cold  and  refusing  to  have  anything  to  do 
with  him  and  his  people,  Black  Hawk  knew  it 
was  useless  to  go  farther.  He  would  admit 
defeat.  He  would  return  to  the  west  of  the 
great  river,  as  the  white  man  required. 


P  a  g  c     K  i)  r  t  y  -  s  e  v  <•  n 


Black    Hawk's    Watch    Tower 


Warfare  to  the  Bitter  Dregs — 1832 


Again  the  wide  prairies  saw  the  imposing 
array  of  Illinois  mounted  volunteers,  1 ,800 
strong,  the  largest  army  which  had  ever  been 
seen  in  Illinois.  Having  covered  a  distance  of 
fifty  miles  that  day,  they  went  into  camp  at  the 
foot  of  the  bluff  opposite  Black  Hawk's  Watch 
Tower.  On  the  third  day  of  their  encampment 
here,  on  May  9th,  Gen.  Henry  Atkinson  came 
from  Fort  Armstrong  and  received  the  volun- 
teers into  the  service  of  the  United  States. 

On  May  10th,  1832,  the  Watch  Tower  had 
its  last  view  of  these  men  enlisted  to  fight  for 
its  possession.  The  1 ,800  volunteers  had 
mounted  their  horses  and  the  busy  camp  scenes 
faded  from  view  as  the  line  followed  the  In- 
dian trail  up  Rock  river  in  pursuit  of  Black 
Hawk. 

The  regulars,  together  with  great  quantities 
of  military  supplies,  were  taken  on  keel-boats. 
There  had  been  difficulty  in  getting  the  large 
boats  over  the  rapids  of  Rock  river  directly  at 
the  foot  of  the  Watch  Tower,  but  they,  too, 
were  now  on  their  way  up-stream. 

The  volunteers  traveling  with  greater  speed, 
reached  the  Prophet's  town,  forty  miles  distant, 
in  the  course  of  the  day,  and  destroyed  the 
Winnebago  village  there,  and  then  continued 
toward  Dixon,  where  they  met  two  battalions 
of  Illinois  volunteers  under  Maj.  Isiah  Stillman. 
As  the  last  named  had  been  at  Dixon  for  some 
time  and  were  weary  of  waiting,  they  were 
given  orders  to  move  ahead  to  see  if  Black 
Hawk  could  be  located.  It  was  this  body  of 
volunteers  which  made  the  initial  contact  with 
the  braves  of  Black  Hawk's  band. 

Now,  completely  disillusioned,  Black  Hawk 
set  about  to  see  how  he  could  retreat  to  the 
west  of  the  Mississippi.  Learning  that  white 
soldiers  were  near,  he  sent  three  of  his  braves, 
with  a  white  flag,  to  arrange  for  a  meeting 
between  him  and  the  commander  of  the  whites. 
Then  he  sent  five  other  braves  to  observe,  from 
a  distance,  what  kind  of  a  reception  the  first 
three  were  having. 

Some  say  the  soldiers  were  drunk  with 
liquor.  It  is  probable  their  minds  had  been  so 
wrought  upon  with  bad  Indian  stories  they 
had  ceased  to  think  of  an  Indian  as  human. 


At  any  rate,  a  white  flag  meant  nothing  to 
them.  They  crowded  about  the  three  mes- 
sengers and  commenced  shooting  them.  One 
was  killed.  The  other  two  escaped  through  the 
crowd.  Of  the  five  observers,  two  were  killed. 
This  was  the  first  bloodshed  of  the  Black  Hawk 
war,  and  was  the  spark  which  set  the  north- 
western part  of  Illinois  and  southwestern  Wis- 
consin afire  with  lust  for  blood. 

Before  the  day  ended  on  this  1  4th  of  May, 
1832,  eleven  men  of  Major  Stillman's  battalion 
were  cold  in  death.  His  undisciplined  men 
thoughtlessly  charged  without  any  order  or 
formation  to  where  they  believed  they  would 
find  Black  Hawk's  warriors.  Unfortunately 
for  them,  they  did  come  upon  the  Indians,  and 
Black  Hawk  with  his  braves  burst  forth  from 
the  bushes  with  savage  fury,  and  the  white 
man's  army  retreated  in  utter  rout,  leaving 
their  dead  behind. 

There  followed  a  period  of  two  months  and 
eighteen  days  of  cruel  warfare,  with  all  the 
hardship  of  a  wilderness  campaign,  and  then 
came  the  final  scene  at  the  battle  of  the  Bad 
Axe,  August  2,  1  832,  which  ended  the  war.  In 
the  meantime  there  occurred  the  massacre  of 
fifteen  whites  on  Indian  Creek,  near  Ottawa, 
and  the  kidnapping  by  the  Indians  of  two 
young  ladies,  the  Hall  sisters.  There  were  the 
battles  of  the  Pecatonica,  Apple  river  fort,  Kel- 
logg's  Grove,  Wisconsin  Heights,  and  many 
an  affair  in  which  but  a  few  participated,  but 
which  cost  the  lives  of  some  of  those  engaged 
in  it.  All  told,  about  1 50  Americans  were 
killed  in  battle  (and  250  died  of  the  cholera), 
and  of  Black  Hawk's  estimated  1 ,000  follow- 
ers, only  about  1  50  escaped  to  the  west  of  the 
Mississippi. 

At  no  time  during  the  war  was  any  sub- 
stantial aid  given  Black  Hawk  by  those  tribes 
who  had  agreed  to  stand  with  him  against  the 
white  man.  Some  individual  Winnebagoes, 
some  Potawatomies  who  had  personal  grudges, 
and  some  friendly  Kickapoos  lent  some  assist- 
ance. Chief  Shabbona  turned  traitor  to  his  race 
and  joined  the  white  army,  and  the  Sioux,  who 
had  long  been  enemies  to  the  Sauk  and  Fox, 
were  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Mississippi  at  the 
time  of   the  battle   of  the   Bad   Axe   and   fell 


Black   Hawk's    Watch    Tower 


Page     Forty-eight 


The   Last  Indian   Survivor  of  the  lilack   Hawk   War — Mrs.   Mary   Keokuk 

She  was  but  a  child,  and  remembered  being  carried  over  the  Wisconsin  river  on  her  mother's 
back  as  she  swam  to  safety.    The  battle  of  Wisconsin  Heights  was  in   progress  at  the  time. 


upon  those  who  escaped  across  the  river,  where 
they  massacred  all  they  could  find. 

As  has  generally,  if  not  always,  been  the 
case  in  wars  between  the  Indians  and  Ameri- 
cans, the  latter,  in  the  Black  Hawk  war,  had 
the  advantage  of  an  organized  source  of  food 
and  other  supplies.    Black  Hawk  was  without 


such  service,  and  had  largely  to  depend  upon 
successful  raids  and  battles.  Early  in  the  strife, 
with  his  promised  allies  failing  him,  he  saw  that 
his  only  hope  lay  in  escaping  to  the  Mississippi 
and  recrossing  to  safety. 

A   part   of   the  white  man's  story   may  be 
gleaned   from   the  various   incidents   given   in 


I'  ii  «■  e      F  0  r  I   v  -  n  i  n  <> 


Black    Hawk's    Watch    Tower 


this  volume  of  the  services  of  individual  men. 
For  a  detailed  account  the  reader  is  referred 
to  the  books  mentioned  herein. 

Even  the  brief  statement  contained  in  this 
volume  would  hardly  serve  its  purpose  without 
giving  a  word  picture  out  of  Black  Hawks  side 
of  the  unequal  contest.  It  is  copied  from  his 
autobiography,  as  follows: 

"During  our  encampment  at  the  Four  Lakes 
(about  Madison,  Wis.)  we  were  hard  pressed 
to  obtain  enough  to  eat  to  support  nature. 
Situated  in  a  swampy,  marshy  country,  which 
had  been  selected  in  consequence  of  the  great 
difficulty  required  to  gain  access  thereto,  there 
was  but  little  game  of  any  sort  to  be  found, 
and  fish  were  equally  scarce.  *  *  *  We 
were  forced  to  dig  roots  and  bark  trees  to  ob- 
tain something  to  satisfy  hunger  and  keep  us 
alive.  Several  of  our  old  people  became  so 
reduced  as  to  actually  die  with  hunger.  Learn- 
ing that  the  army  had  commenced  moving,  and 
fearing  that  they  might  come  upon  and  sur- 
round our  encampment,  I  concluded  to  remove 
our  women  and  children  across  the  Mississippi, 
that  they  might  return  to  the  Sac  nation  again. 
*  *  *  We  had  commenced  crossing  the 
Wisconsin  when  we  discovered  a  large  body 
of  the  enemy  coming  towards  us.  We  were 
now  compelled  to  fight  or  sacrifice  our  wives 


and  children  to  the  fury  of  the  whites.  I  met 
them  with  fifty  warriors,  having  left  the  bal- 
ance to  assist  our  women  and  children  in  cross- 
ing, about  a  mile  from  the  river,  on  a  fine 
horse,  and  was  pleased  to  see  my  warriors  so 
brave.  *  *  *  I  addressed  them  in  a  loud 
voice,  telling  them  to  stand  their  ground  and 
never  yield  it  to  the  enemy."     *     *     * 

"In  this  skirmish,  with  fifty  braves  I  defend- 
ed and  accomplished  my  passage  over  the  Wis- 
consin with  a  loss  of  only  six  men,  though  op- 
posed by  a  host  of  mounted  militia.  I  would 
not  have  fought  there,  but  to  gain  time  for  our 
women  and  children  to  cross  to  an  island.  A 
warrior  will  duly  appreciate  the  embarrass- 
ments I  labored  under — and  whatever  may  be 
the  sentiment  of  the  white  people  in  relation 
to  this  battle,  my  nation,  though  fallen,  will 
award  to  me  the  reputation  of  a  great  brave  in 
conducting  it."     (p.    112,  Autobiography.) 

"Here  some  of  my  people  left  me  and  de- 
scended the  Wisconsin.  But  few  of  this  party 
escaped.  Soldiers  from  Prairie  du  Chien  were 
stationed  near  the  mouth  of  the  Wisconsin, 
who  fired  on  our  distressed  people.  Some  were 
killed,  others  drowned,  several  taken  prisoners, 
and  the  balance  escaped  to  the  woods  and  per- 
ished with  hunger." 


The  End— At  the  Bad  Axe 


"Early  in  the  morning,  August  2,  a  party  of 
whites,  being  in  advance  of  the  army,  came 
upon  our  people,  who  were  attempting  to  cross 
the  Mississippi.  They  tried  to  give  themselves 
up;  the  whites  paid  no  attention  to  their  en- 
treaties, but  commenced  slaughtering  them. 
In  a  little  while  the  whole  army  arrived.  Our 
braves,  but  few  in  number,  finding  that  the 
enemy  paid  no  regard  to  age  or  sex,  and  seeing 


that  they  were  murdering  helpless  women  and 
little  children,  determined  to  fight  until  they 
were  killed.  As  many  women  as  could  com- 
menced swimming  the  Mississippi  with  their 
children  on  their  backs;  a  number  of  them 
were  drowned  and  some  shot  before  they  could 
reach  the  opposite  shore."  (p.  115,  Autobi- 
ography.) 


Black    Hawks   Watch    Tower 


Page     Fifty 


Captain   Abraham  Lincoln  was  Sworn  into  Federal   Service  by  General  Atkinson   at  the  Camp 
Opposite  the   Match   Tower   on    May  9th,   1832 

Abraham  Lincoln 

Captain  in  Black  Hawk  War;  Congressman,  and  President 


Abraham  Lincoln's  service  to  his  nation  be- 
gan just  across  Rock  river  opposite  Black 
Hawk's  Watch  Tower.  Here  he  became  an 
officer  in  the  United  States  volunteer  army,  one 
of  the  proudest  positions,  according  to  his  own 
testimony,  that  he  ever  held.  He  was  not 
trained  for  the  army,  and  when,  in  1861-65,  he 


was  commander-in-chief  of  the  national  forces, 
his  only  actual  experience  was  what  he  had 
gained  in  the  campaign  against  Black  Hawk. 
The  Indian  war  was  of  short  duration,  and 
Captain  Lincoln  did  not  stay  in  the  service  to 
its  end.  He  did,  however,  pass  through  prac- 
tically every  experience  common  to  a  war  cam- 


P  a 


F  i  I"  (  y  -one 


Black    Hawk's    Watch    Tower 


Site,   on   the   Level   Plain   Below,  of  the   Camp  of  the   Illinois   Volunteers,   May    7  to   10,   1832 

Additional  interest  in  this  site  is  found  in  the  fact  that  Abraham  Lincoln,  as  Captain,  with  his  Com- 
pany, were  a  part  of  the  life  of  the  camp.  Here  Gen.  Henry  Atkinson  came  and  administered  the 
oath  which  placed  the  Volunteers  under  command  of  the  United  States  Army  officers.  Black  Hawk's 
Watch    Tower   appears   in    the   background    of   the    picture,    with    a    glimpse    of    Rock    river    between. 


paign,  excepting  only  that  of  combat.  He  had, 
perhaps,  the  most  trying  part  even  of  what 
goes  with  actual  combat,  namely,  keeping  his 
place  in  line,  his  finger  on  the  trigger,  with  the 
enemy  approaching  at  but  a  few  yards  dis- 
tant. On  they  came,  in  overwhelming  num- 
ber. It  tried  men's  nerves — and  then — they 
proved  to  be  friends  and  the  strain  was  over. 
On  two  occasions  he  helped  bury  the  dead  on 
the  field  of  battle. 

Let  us  take  a  closer  view  of  this  national 
hero,  one  of  the  greatest  the  world  has  known, 
and  follow  him  as  he  rides  through  the  mud, 
slushes  through  the  swollen  streams,  suffers  the 
pangs  of  hunger,  views  the  melancholy  sight 
of  the  dead,  scalped,  comrades-in-arms,  and 
finally  gives  up  the  pursuit,  as  he  believes  the 
Indians  have  gotten  beyond  the  prospect  of  the 
aimy's  ever  catching  up  with  them. 

The  army  of  volunteers  having  been  organ- 
ized, left  their  camp  near  Rushville  and  started 
for  Black  Hawk's  village  on  Rock  river,  via 
Oquawka.    We  will  copy  details  of  the  trip  as 


recorded  by  Gov.  John  Reynolds,  who  accom- 
panied the  expedition: 

"Early  on  a  cold  morning,  the  27th  of  April 
(  1  832) ,  the  army  commenced  its  march.  *  * 
The  earth  was  very  wet  and  muddy;  there  be- 
ing no  roads,  it  gave  the  troops  trouble  in 
marching  and  crossing  the  muddy  streams 
without  bridges.  We  reached  Henderson  river, 
which  was  high,  the  water  running  to  the  top 
of  the  banks  *  *  *  and  ran  like  a  mill-tail. 
No  bridge,  boats,  or  any  mode  to  cross  it,  ex- 
cept by  rafting  and  swimming  the  horses,  and 
an  army  of  almost  2,000  strong  stopped  at  it. 
A  great  portion  of  the  volunteers  had  been 
raised  in  the  backwoods,  and  rafting  and  swim- 
ming streams  were  familiar  to  them.  *  *  * 
Trees  from  each  side  were  cut  and  felled  into 
the  stream,  so  that  their  tops  lapped  and  made 
a  footing  on  which  some  crossed.  *  *  *  We 
had  little  or  no  provisions  *  *  *  a  wagon 
or  two  were  lost  in  the  river  and  one  horse  was 
drowned.  We  reached  Yellow  Banks  and 
found    no    provisions.      *      *      *      A   critical 


Black    Hawk's    Watch    Tower 


Page     F  i  f  t  y - t  w  o 


situation.  *  *  *  A  large  army,  a  consider- 
able distance  out  in  the  wilderness,  and  three 
days  with  literally  nothing  to  eat." 

After  three  days  without  food,  the  longed- 
for  steamboat  arrived  with  an  abundance  of 
provisions.  The  next  morning,  the  7th  of  May, 
the  army  continued  on  its  way,  and  after  a 
march  of  fifty  miles  that  day,  went  into  camp 
at  the  south  edge  of  Black  Hawk's  village, 
where  they  remained  a  few  days. 

This  camp  doubtless  was  the  most  care-free 
and  enjoyable  of  any  in  the  war  experiences 
of  Abraham  Lincoln.  For  the  time  being  they 
were  in  the  midst  of  peace  and  plenty,  with 
time  to  visit  the  remains  of  Black  Hawk's  vil- 
lage, or  to  climb  the  Watch  Tower;  to  see 
Fort  Armstrong,  which  was  a  sight  the  like  of 
which  many  had  never  before  seen,  and  to  do 
shopping  at  the  Indian  Trading  Post  of  George 
Davenport.  It  is  a  matter  of  record  that  some 
of  these  places  were  visited  by  the  volunteers. 
It  is  a  matter  of  record,  too,  that  a  variety  of 
sports  and  escapades  were  indulged  in,  and 
Lincoln's  name  is  connected  with  some  of 
these.  It  could  only  be  with  a  feeling  of  added 
security  that  the  volunteers  witnessed  the  pres- 
ence of  the  regulars,  and  the  loading  of  great 
barges  with  cannon  and  other  military  equip- 
ment and  supplies. 

Perhaps  the  most  impressive  of  all  to  the 
eager,  ambitious  young  Lincoln,  now  twenty- 
three  years  of  age,  was  his  reception  into  the 
service  of  the  United  States,  and  with  it,  the 
fact  of  being  captain  of  his  company.  General 
Atkinson  had  performed  the  ceremony  neces- 
sary to  their  entrance  upon  national  service  on 
the  9th  of  May. 

Next  morning,  the  1  Oth,  the  long  procession 
passed  the  Watch  Tower  and  was  on  its  way 
up  Rock  river.  They  reached  the  Prophet's 
town,  forty  miles  away,  the  same  day  and 
burned  the  village  of  the  Winnebagoes  there, 
and  proceeded  toward  Dixon,  arriving  there 
the  12th. 

At  Dixon  the  volunteers  for  the  first  time 
came  face  to  face  with  the  meaning  of  war. 
As  the  refugees  from  Stillman's  defeat  came 
straggling  in,  the  campaign  took  on  a  more 
serious  aspect.  We  will  again  quote  from  Gov- 
ernor Reynold's  report: 


"About  one  o'clock  of  the  morning  of  the 
1 5th  *  *  *  stragglers  who  had  escaped 
from  the  battle  reached  camp  and  narrated  such 
horrid  and  tragical  stories  of  the  disaster  with 
the  Indians  that  it  was  truly  alarming  and 
shocking.    Soldiers  arrived  in  utter  confusion 

*  *  those  narrating  the  disaster  generally 
believed  and  stated  they  were  about  all  that 
had  escaped. 

"Early  in  the  morning  of  the  1  5th  of  May 
the  army  marched  to  the  battle 
ground.  It  was  about  twenty-five  miles  from 
Dixon,  and  when  we  reached  the  scene,  in  the 
evening,  it  looked  melancholy  and  appalling  to 
the  troops  who  had  for  the  first  time  witnessed 
such  a  sight.  The  bodies  of  the  volunteers 
who  had  been  killed  were  mostly  cut  and  man- 
gled in  a  horrid  manner.  Many  horses  also  lay 
dead  on  the  scene  of  action.  All  the  bodies 
and  parts  of  bodies  that  could  be  found 
were  buried,  and  the  army  remained  on  the 
ground  all  night. 

"The  volunteers  had  not  arranged  to  remain 
in  the  service  long,  as  they  expected  the  Indians 
would  be  chastised  in  a  lew  days.  They  had 
no  clothes  with  them,  and  many  of  their  fam- 
ilies were  not  provided  for  at  home  *  *  * 
the  terms  of  their  enlistment  was  undefined 
and  they  had  the  power  to  return.  The  army 
mostly  disbanded." 

Governor  Reynolds  now  issued  a  call  for 
2,000  new  volunteers,  and  those  who  remained 
of  the  first  levy  were  re-organized  for  further 
duty. 

Captain  Lincoln's  company  being  now  dis- 
banded, he  enlisted  as  a  private  and  served  in 
the  company  of  Maj.  Elijah  lies,  whose  report 
we  follow  from  now  on,  for  if  the  ex-Captain 
Lincoln  kept  a  diary  or  wrote  his  experiences 
afterward  it  has  not  come  to  the  notice  of  his 
biographers.  Major  lies'  report  has  the  follow- 
ing statement: 

"A  man  came  in  to  Col.  Zachary  Taylor's 
camp  at  Dixon  and  reported  that  he  and  six 
others  were  on  the  road  to  Galena,  and  in  pass- 
ing through  a  point  of  timber  *  *  *  were 
fired  upon  and  the  six  killed,  he  being  the  only 
one  to  make  his  escape. 

"Taylor  ordered  a  company  to  proceed  to 
the  place,  bury  the  dead  and  go  on  to  Galena. 
The  company  took   fright  and  came  back  to 


I'  M  g  e     K  i  f  t  y  -  t  h  r  im' 


Black    Hawk's    Watch    Tower 


Rook   River,  at   Black   Hawk's  Villa? 


the  Illinois  river  helter  skelter,"  and  now 
Colonel  Taylor  asked  Major  lies  if  he  would 
undertake  this  service.  The  task  was  accepted, 
and  so  Lincoln  became  a  party  to  an  undertak- 
ing which  required  daring. 

"The  next  day  was  a  busy  one,  running  bul- 
lets and  getting  our  flintlocks  in  order.  We 
numbered  forty-eight  men.  *  *  *  We  took 
nothing  that  could  be  dispensed  with,  other 
than  blankets,  tin  cups,  coffee  pots,  canteens, 
a  wallet  of  bread  and  some  fat  side  meat,  which 
we  ate  raw  or  broiled.  *  *  *  Just  at  sun- 
down the  first  day  our  advance  scouts  came  in 
under  whip  and  reported  Indians.  We  bounced 
to  our  feet  and,  having  a  full  view  of  the  road 
for  a  long  distance,  could  see  a  large  body  com- 
ing toward  us.  *  *  *  John  Dixon  pro- 
nounced them  Indians.  I  stationed  my  men  in 
a  ravine  crossing  the  road  where  anyone  ap- 
proaching could  not  see  us  until  within  thirty 
yards;  the  horses  I  had  driven  back  out  of 
sight  in  a  valley.  I  asked  General  Henry  to  take 
command;  he  said  no,  stand  at  your  post,  and 
walked  along  the  line  talking  to  the  men  in  a 
low,  calm  voice.  Lieutenant  Harris,  U.  S.  A., 
seem  much  agitated;  he  ran  up  and  down  the 
line  and  exclaimed,  'Captain,  we  will  catch 
h — 11. '  He  had  horse  pistols,  belt  pistols  and  a 
double-barreled  gun.  He  would  pick  the  flints, 
reprime,  and  laid  the  horse  pistols  at  his  feet. 
*  *  *  Instead  of  Indians,  they  proved  to  be 
the  command  of  General  Dodge,  from  Galena, 
with   1  50  men,  en  route  to  find  out  what  had 


become  of  General  Atkinson's  army  *  *  * 
they  had  no  word  from  him  for  ten  days.  *  * 
When  we  got  within  fifteen  miles  of  Galena, 
on  Apple  river,  we  found  a  stockade  filled  with 
women  and  children  and  a  few  men,  all  terribly 
frightened.  The  Indians  had  shot  at  and  chased 
two  men  that  afternoon,  who  made  their 
escape  to  the  stockade.  They  insisted  on  our 
quartering  in  the  fort,  but  instead  we  camped 
1  00  yards  outside,  and  slept,  what  little  sleep 
we  did  get,  with  our  guns  in  our  arms.  General 
Henry  did  not  sleep,  but  drilled  my  men  all 
night,  so  the  moment  they  were  called  they 
would  bounce  to  their  feet  and  stand  in  two 
lines,  the  front  ready  to  fire  and  fall  back  to 
reload  while  the  others  stepped  forward  and 
took  their  places.  They  were  called  up  a  num- 
ber of  times,  and  we  got  but  little  sleep.  On 
our  return  from  Galena,  *  *  *  six  of 
Colonel  Dodge's  scouts  had  discovered  my  two 
men  that  I  had  allowed  to  drop  in  the  rear. 
Having  weak  horses,  they  had  fallen  in  the 
rear  about  two  miles,  and  each  took  the  other 
to  be  Indians,  and  such  an  exciting  race  I  never 
saw  until  they  got  sight  of  my  company;  then 
they  came  to  a  sudden  halt,  and  after  looking 
at  us  a  few  moments  wheeled  their  horses  and 
gave  up  the  chase.  My  two  men  did  not  know 
but  that  they  were  Indians  until  they  came  up 
with  us  and  shouted  Indians.'  They  had 
thrown  away  their  wallets  and  guns  and  used 
their  ramrods  as  whips. 


Black   Hawk's   Watch    Tower 


Page     F  i  f  t  y-f  our 


"The  few  houses  on  the  road  that  usually 
accommodated  the  travel  were  all  standing, 
but  vacant,  as  we  went.  On  our  return  we 
found  them  all  burned  by  the  Indians." 

Captain  lies'  company  was  mustered  out 
June  16th,  and  on  the  same  day  Lincoln  re- 
enlisted,  this  time  in  the  company  of  Scouts 
under  Capt.  Jacob  M.  Early,  and  was  kept  very 
busy  hunting  through  the  wilderness  for  Black 
Hawk  and  his  braves.  It  was  not  merely  a 
game  of  hide  and  seek.  On  all  sides  blood  was 
flowing.  Soldiers  and  settlers  alike  were  dying 
in  battle,  or  being  picked  off  singly  or  in  small 
groups  by  the  Indians.  Lincoln  could  not  know 
whether  he  would  live  to  see  another  day. 

With  his  command  he  arrived  at  Kellogg's 
Grove  on  June  25th,  just  after  a  battle  there, 
and  helped  to  bury  the  five  men  who  had  been 
killed.  In  after  years,  Lincoln  said  of  the  scene: 
"I  remember  just  how  those  men  looked  as  we 
rode  up  the  little  hill  where  their  camp  was. 
The  red  light  of  the  morning  sun  was  stream- 
ing upon  them  as  they  lay,  heads  toward  us, 
on  the  ground.  Every  man  had  a  round,  red 
spot  on  top  of  his  head  about  as  big  as  a  dollar, 
where  the  redskins  had  taken  off  his  scalp.  It 
was  frightful,  but  it  was  grotesque,  and  the 
red  sunlight  seemed  to  paint  everything  all 
over.  I  remember  one  man  had  on  buckskin 
breeches." — (From  "Lincoln  and  New  Sa- 
lem.") 

While  Lincoln  and  his  comrades  were  thus 
engaged — scouting,  drilling,  defending,  and 
the  incidental  burial  of  the  dead — the  new 
army  had  been  organized  and  had  taken  the 
field  in  pursuit  of  Black  Hawk  and  his  band. 
It  seemed  like  hunting  the  traditional  needle- 
in-the-haystack.  Farther  and  farther  into  the 
wilderness  were  they  drawn,  and  chances  of 
ever  coming  up  with  the  Indians  became  more 
and  more  remote.  We  quote  again  from  Gov- 
ernor Reynolds'  record: 

"On  the  4th  of  July  the  main  army  lay  on 
the  banks  of  Lake  Koshkonong,  which  is  an 
enlargement  of  Rock  river,  and  experienced  a 
melancholy  and  sadness  of  feeling  indescrib- 
able. The  provisions  wasting  away — almost 
gone — and  the  enemy  not  chastised.  Two  or 
three  thousand  fine  soldiers  under  arms  and 
nothing  done  caused  reflections  in  the  breasts 
of  the  officers,  and  many  privates,  that  were 


extremely  mortifying  and  painful.  But  what 
could  be  done?  We  were  almost  hunting  a 
shadow. 

"On  the  1  Oth  of  July,  in  the  midst  of  a  con- 
siderable wilderness,  the  provisions  were  ex- 
hausted, and  the  army  forced  to  abandon  the 
pursuit  of  the  enemy  for  a  short  time.  *  *  * 
Knowing  the  extreme  uncertainty  of  ever 
reaching  Black  Hawk  by  these  slow  move- 
ments, caused  most  of  the  army  to  believe  we 
would  never  overtake  the  enemy." 

At  this  point  Abraham  Lincoln,  and  others 
who  became  prominent  in  the  affairs  of  the 
State  and  Nation,  left  the  army  and  returned 
to  their  homes.  It  was  their  opinion  that  the 
Indians  would  never  be  overtaken,  and  further 
effort  would  be  a  waste  of  time  and  money. 

To  Abraham  Lincoln  the  Black  Hawk  war 
was  a  rare  opportunity,  as  war  has  ever  been 
to  thousands  of  others  in  all  time.  Whether 
volunteer  or  drafted,  it  is  the  same.  It  lifts  one 
from  the  rut;  arouses  him  from  the  humdrum 
of  existence  and  thrusts  him  into  a  new — a 
wider  world,  teeming  on  all  sides  with  new 
adventure,  new  associations,  a  new  outlook, 
and  possibly  a  new  philosophy  of  life. 

Never  again  would  Lincoln  be  content  with 
village  life.  The  urge  for  wider  influence  was 
upon  him.  In  the  Black  Hawk  campaign  he 
had  touched  elbows  with  men  of  calibre — 
many  of  the  most  prominent  of  Illinois.  He 
was  particularly  drawn  to  Stuart,  son  of  a 
family  of  culture;  a  college  graduate,  and  at 
this  time  an  attorney  at  law — having  the  very 
things  which  the  tall,  awkward,  ambitious  Lin- 
coln felt  so  much  in  need  of.  It  is  said  that  no 
other  one  man  had  so  much  influence  in  shap- 
ing the  career  of  Lincoln  as  had  John  Todd 
Stuart,  whom  he  first  met  in  the  Black  Hawk 
war.  Soon  after  the  war  Lincoln  was  studying 
law  from  books  loaned  him  by  Stuart,  and, 
later,  the  future  President  came  to  Springfield 
with  his  pitifully  meagre  possessions  and 
joined  Stuart  as  partner  in  the  practice  of  law. 

Other  priceless  friendships  were  formed  with 
men  of  the  Black  Hawk  campaign,  and,  all 
told,  the  war,  though  of  short  duration,  was  to 
Abraham  Lincoln  one  of  the  most  helpful  of 
episodes  in  his  march  from  rail  splitter  to  that 
of  the  most  beloved  of  all  Americans. 


Page    Flfty-flvo 


Black    Hawk's    Watch    Tower 


General  Winfield  Scott,  who  tame  with  One  Thousand   Regulars  to  take   Command  of  the  forces 

operating  against  Black  Hawk  in  1832 

Winfield  Scott 

Served  in  the  War  of  1812-14;  Black  Hawk,  Seminole,  Creek,  and 
Mexican  Wars,  and  was  made  Lieutenant-General  in  1855;  resigned 
1861.  Was  twice  voted  gold  medals  by  Congress  for  gallantry;  was 
three  times  candidate  for  President,  in  1839,  1848  and  1852,  being 
defeated  by  Wm.  H.  Harrison,  Zachary  Taylor  and 
Franklin  Pierce,  respectively. 

General   Scott   came  to  Fort  Armstrong  in  headquarters    there.     On    his    way 


lere    from 


fi 


the  1832  Black  Hawk  war  and  established  his  Fortress   Monroe   with   about    1,000   regulars, 


Black    Hawk's    Watch    Tower 


P  a  c  e     Fifty-six 


cholera  broke  out  among  his  men  and  about 
one-fourth  their  number  died.  The  cholera 
raged  in  its  worst  form  among  the  jaded  troops 
at  Fort  Armstrong. 

The  last  battle,  that  of  the  Bad  Axe,  had 
been  fought  a  few  days  before  General  Scott's 
arrival.  He  ordered  that  all  the  Indian  prison- 
ers be  brought  to  Fort  Armstrong.  Here  he 
retained  1  1 8  of  the  half-starved  remnant  of 
Black   Hawk's    British   band,    and   sent    Black 


Hawk,   together  with  his  two  sons  and  prin- 
cipal men,  to  Jefferson  Barracks. 

During  his  stay  at  Fort  Armstrong  General 
Scott,  together  with  Governor  Reynolds,  ne- 
gotiated two  notable  Indian  treaties- — one  with 
the  Winnebagoes,  September  1 5th,  and  the 
other  with  the  Sauk  and  Fox,  September  21st, 
1832.  The  last  named  provided  for  the  cession 
to  the  United  States  of  what  is  known  as  the 
"Black  Hawk  Purchase"  of  lands  in  Iowa. 
This  treaty  was  signed  on  the  present  site  of 
Davenport,  Iowa. 


John  Reynolds 


Lawyer;   Editor;  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Illinois;   Governor 

of  Illinois;   Congressman;   Appointed  Major-General  by 

President  Jackson,  in  the  Black  Hawk  War. 


Governor  Reynolds  came  to  the  Watch 
Tower  village  both  in  the  1831  and  1832 
campaigns  of  the  Black  Hawk  war,  the  volun- 
teers in  both  instances  having  been  called  to 
arms  by  him. 

In  the  spring  of  1831  bloodshed  seemed  im- 
minent between  the  pioneers  who  had  settled 
within  Black  Hawk's  village  and  the  Indians, 
who  had  previously  cultivated  the  same  fields 
and  still  claimed  them  as  their  own,  In  re- 
sponse to  urgent  appeals,  Governor  Reynolds, 
without  requisition  from  the  United  States 
authorities,  on  the  26th  of  April  called  for  700 
militiamen  to  assemble  at  Beardstown  June 
10.  "The  warm  feelings  of  the  late  elec- 
tion for  governor  had  not  yet  died  away,"  and 
political  friend  and  foe  cleared  at  once  for 
action — the  one  to  support  the  governor  in  the 
raising  of  troops,  the  other  to  oppose  and  de- 
feat anything  the  governor  might  propose. 
Volunteers  began  to  come  by  the  hundreds, 
but  thus  far  Governor  Reynolds  had  no  sup- 
plies in  view  for  an  army,  nor  did  he  know 
what  the  attitude  of  the  United  States  author- 
ities would  be  toward  his  action.  When  he  did 
receive  a  reply  from  General  Gaines,  it  was 
most  disheartening,  as  follows: 

"I  do  not  deem  it  necessary  or  proper  to 
lequire  militia  or  any  other  description  of 
force,  other  than  the  regular  army,  at  this  place 
(Jefferson  Barracks)  and  Prairie  du  Chien  to 
protect  the  frontiers."  A  cruel  blow,  but  on 
June    5th   General   Gaines   saved   the   day    for 


the  governor  by  writing:  "I  deem  it  the  only 
safe  measure  now  to  be  taken  to  request  of 
your  excellency  the  battalion  of  mounted  men 
which  you  did  me  the  honor  to  say  would  co- 
operate with  me."  Needless  for  the  governor 
to  say,  as  he  did  of  the  letter:  "I  was  very  much 
rejoiced  on  receiving  the  letter,  as  that  put  my 
whole  proceeding  on  a  legal  and  constitutional 
footing,  and  the  responsibility  of  the  war  re- 
moved from  me  to  the  United  States."  After 
four  days  of  a  "pleasant  and  prosperous 
march,"  the  1,600  volunteers,  at  2:00  p.m., 
went  into  camp  on  the  Mississippi,  eight  miles 
below  the  Sauk  village  (now  Andalusia). 
Here  General  Gaines  met  them  with  a  steam- 
boat with  abundant  provisions,  received  them 
into  the  service  of  the  United  States  and  took 
command,  thereby  relieving  Governor  Rey- 
nolds of  his  arduous  cares. 

The  1  832  campaign  was  scarcely  less  trying 
to  the  "Old  Ranger."  He  had  sent  a  trust- 
worthy man  to  St.  Louis  to  secure  provisions 
for  the  Illinois  army  and  to  take  them  by  steam- 
boat up  the  Mississippi  to  Oquawka,  where  the 
volunteers  would  meet  them,  the  soldiers 
meanwhile  marching  across  country.  The 
army,  hungry  and  worn  from  struggling 
through  mud,  camping  through  long,  cold, 
rainy  nights  and  having  to  swim  their  horses 
across  swollen  streams,  arrived  in  due  time  at 
the  appointed  place,  but  no  steamboat  had 
arrived  and  there  were  no  provisions.  "This 
was  my  situation  for  three  days,"  so  wrote  the 
governor  afterward,  "the  longest,  I  thought,  I 


I'  a  k  e     F  if  t  y  -  a  e  v  e  n 


Black    Hawk's    Watch    Tower 


Governor  John   Reynolds  accompanied   the  Illinois   Volunteers  to  the   Watoh   Tower   Village,   both   in 
the   1831   and  the   1832   Campaigns,   Black   Hawk   War 


ever  experienced.  The  army  had  literally  noth- 
ing to  eat,  and  I  heard  murmurs  escape  the 
troops  complaining  of  me  for  the  situation  I 
had  placed  them  in.  But  at  last,  one  morning, 
the  6th  of  May,  the  steamboat  'William  Wal- 
lace' hove  in  sight  in  the  Mississippi  with 
plenty  of  provisions.  This  sight  was,  I  pre- 
sume, the  most  interesting  I  ever  beheld."  The 
painfully  long  delay  had  come  near  disbanding 
the  army. 


Next  morning  they  started  for  Fort  Arm- 
strong and  marched  over  prairie,  through 
woodland  and  across  more  swollen  streams,  a 
distance  that  day  of  fifty  miles,  and  made  camp 
on  the  plain  at  the  foot  of  the  bluff  opposite 
Black  Hawk's  Watch  Tower.  Here,  on  the  9th 
of  May,  they  were  received  into  the  Federal 
service,  under  Gen.  Henry  Atkinson  of  the 
regular  army,  and  once  more  Governor  Rey- 
nolds' arduous  responsibilities  were  over. 


Black    Hawk's    Watch    Tower 


Page    Fifty -eisrht 


Null-pope,  the  Broth,  is  said  to  have  been  Seeond  in  Command  of  the  Indians  in  the 
Black  Hawk  War,  and  to  have  been  a  Military  Genius 

This  portrait  was  painted  from  life  by  Catlin.  while  Black  Hawk  and  his  party  of  leaders  were 
prisoners  of  war  at  Jefferson  Barracks,  Mo.,  in  the  fall  of  1832.  Nan-pope  asked  that  lie  be  repre- 
sented as  holding  the  white  tiafi'.  The  original  is  on  exhibition  at  the  National  Museum.  Wash- 
ington, 1).  C. 


In  September  1832,  Lieutenants  Robert  An- 
derson and  Jefferson  Davis  brought  the  Indian 
prisoners  to  Fort  Armstrong.  Black  Hawk  and 
his  head  men  were  taken  to  Jefferson  Barracks 
for  imprisonment.  While  there,  the  artist  Cat- 
lin painted  their  portraits,  and  wrote  of  them 
as  follows: 

"We  were  immediately  struck  with  admira- 


tion at  the  gigantic  and  symmetrical  figures  of 
most  of  these  warriors,  who  seemed,  as  they 
reclined  in  native  ease  and  gracefulness,  with 
their  half-naked  bodies  exposed  to  view,  rather 
like  statues  from  some  master  hand  than  like 
beings  of  a  race  whom  we  had  heard  charac- 
terized as  degenerate  and  debased. 

"We  extended  our  hands,  which  they  rose 


Tape     F  i  f  t  y     n  i  n  e 


Black    Hawk's    Watch    Tower 


Nah-se-us-kuk,    The    Whirling    Thunder,    Elder    Son    of    Black    Hawk,    and    One    of    the 
Leaders    in    the    War    Which    ISore    His    Father's    Name 

The  artist  Catlin,  who  painted  this  portrait,  says  of  him  that  Nah-se-us-kuk  was  the  finest 
looking   Indian   he  ever   saw — and   Catlin    painted    portraits   among   many   tribes. 

Painted  at  Jefferson  Barracks  in  1832.  The  original  is  on  exhibition  at  the  National  Museum, 
Washington,  I).  ('. 


to  grasp,  and  to  our  question,  'How'd  do?' 
they  responded  in  the  same  words,  accom- 
panying them  with  a  hearty  shake. 

"They  were  clad  in  leggings  and  moccasins 
of  buckskins,  and  wore  blankets  which  were 


thrown  around  them  in  the  manner  of  the 
Roman  toga  so  as  to  leave  their  right  arm 
bare.  The  youngest  among  them  were  painted 
on  their  necks  with  bright  vermilion  color,  and 
had  their  faces  transversely  streaked  with  al- 
ternate red  and  black  streaks." 


Black    Hawk's    Watch    Tower 


Page    Sixty 


View  up  Kock  River  from  the  Point  of  the  Watch  Tower 


Books  that  Tell  the  Story  of  the  Black  Hawk 
Watch  Tower  Country 


The  Black  Hawk  Watch  Tower;  Sauk  Vil- 
lage on  Rock  river;  Black  Hawk's  village; 
The  Sauk  War,  and  Black  Hawk  War — all 
these  titles  are  used  interchangeably  by  writers 
while  referring  to  one  and  the  same  thing, 
viz:  the  place  where  Black  Hawk  was  born 
and  lived  until  he  was  sixty-five  years  of  age; 
the  town  which  became  one  of  the  most  popu- 
lous Indian  communities  in  the  United  States, 
and  seat  of  Sauk  and  Fox  power;  and  the  spot 
for  possession  of  which  was  fought  the  last 
Indian  war  of  the  original  Northwest  territory. 

There  were  other  Sauk  villages,  but  they 
did  not  attain  a  prominence  above  that  of  other 
Indian  communities  scattered  by  the  score 
over  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  continent, 
hence  no  books  were  written  concerning  them. 


The  following  are  some  of  the  books  which 
have  given  the  Rock  river  village  a  wide  pub- 
licity, as  follows : 

Perhaps  most  important  is  Black  Hawk's 
Autobiography,  dictated  by  him  after  his  re- 
lease from  prison  following  the  Black  Hawk 
war,  with  the  aid  of  Antoine  LeClaire,  as  in- 
terpreter, and  J.  B.  Patterson,  as  editor.  This 
is  an  authentic  account  of  the  Indian  side  of  all 
the  troubles  which  ended  with  the  Black  Hawk 
war.  That  it  is  a  genuine  Indian  book  is  not 
questioned.  Its  reliability  is  attested  to  by  An- 
toine LeClaire,  a  man  of  integrity,  who  was 
interpreter  for  the  Agency  at  Fort  Armstrong. 
LeClaire  was  himself  half  Indian  and,  there- 
fore, was  able  to  maintain  the  Indian  spirit 
throughout  the  work. 


Page     Sixty      line 


Black    Hawk's    Watch    Tower 


Black  Hawk's  Autobiography  was  written 
in  1833.  The  writer  has  a  copy  dated  1834, 
published  in  Boston. 

Another  edition  by  J.  B.  Patterson  was 
printed  in  St.  Louis,  1882,  and  contains  eighty- 
nine  pages  of  valuable  notes,  appendix,  etc. 

Another  edition  of  Black  Hawks  Autobi- 
ography was  gotten  out  in  1912,  with  thirty 
pages  of  notes  and  explanations,  by  James  D. 
Rishell. 

Still  another  edition  of  the  Autobiography 
was  published  in  1916  by  the  Lakeside  Press, 
as  one  of  the  Lakeside  Classics,  the  editor  be- 
ii:g  Milo  M.  Quaife,  of  the  Wisconsin  Histori- 
cal Society. 

"Life  of  Black  Hawk,''  by  George  Conclin, 
1848,  a  book  of  288  pages. 

Same  as  above,  illustrated,  and  published  in 
1856. 

"Black  Hawk  and  Scenes  In  the  West,''  by 
Elbert  H.  Smith,  1849;  "A  National  Poem  In 
Six  Cantos,''  of  299  pages. 

"Lincoln  In  the  Black  Hawk  War,"  by  The- 
ophilus  Middling  and  Denton  J.  Snider,  a  book 
of  375  pages,  written  in  the  style  of  a  poem. 

The  Sauks  and  the  Black  Hawk  War,"  by 
Honorable  Perry  A.  Armstrong,  a  book  of  726 
pages,  published  in  1887. 

"The  Black  Hawk  War,"  by  Frank  E.  Ste- 
vens, a  book  of  323  pages,  which  is  virtually 
an  encyclopedia  of  all  that  pertains  to  Black 
Hawk  and  his  various  conflicts  with  the  U.  S. 
authorities.    Published  in   1 903. 

"History  of  the  War  Between  the  United 
States  and  the  Sac  and  Fox  Nation,"  a  book  of 
1 98  pages,  including  appendix,  published 
1  834  by  John  A.  Wakefield,  who  served  in  the 
Black  Hawk  war. 

"Wakefield's  History  of  the  Black  Hawk 
War,"  a  reprint  of  the  above,  with  illustrations 
and  editor's  appendix,  published  by  the  Caxton 
Club,  Chicago,  1  908,  edited  by  Frank  E.  Ste- 
vens. 

"The  Saukie  Indians,"  illustrated,  by  Dr. 
Amer  Mills  Stocking,  Ph.  D.,  1926.  A  book 
of  299  pages,  including  32  pages  of  historical 
notes.  This  is  just  off  the  press.  It  is  authentic 
history  written  in  rhyme;  the  meter  changing 
from  story  to  story,  and  highly  interesting, 
alike    to    adults    and    children.      "The    writer 


brushes  the  dust  of  oblivion  off  many  a  fine 
deed,"  says  Miss  French  (Octave  Thanet),  in 
the  introduction  to  this  book. 

"The  Totem  of  Black  Hawk"  is  an  histor- 
ical novel  of  369  pages,  published  in  1914  by 
Everett  McNeil. 

"The  Trail  of  Black  Hawk"  is  another  his- 
torical novel  by  Paul  G.  Tomlinson,  a  book 
of  341  pages,  published  in  1915. 

Both  the  above  named  historical  novels  are 
highly  interesting  and  instructive. 

While  all  the  above  named  are  devoted  ex- 
clusively to  Black  Hawk  and  subjects  directly 
connected  with  him,  it  is  not  claimed  that  it 
is  a  complete  list.  They  are  merely  those  con- 
tained in  the  writer's  private  library.  The  sub- 
ject is  today  a  live  one,  and  books,  pamphlets, 
magazine  and  newspaper  articles  are  continual- 
ly being  printed  on  this  subject,  which  is  so 
full  of  romance  and  tragedy. 

Among  the  classes  of  books  giving  part 
space  to  the  Watch  Tower  country  and  its  red 
denizens  may  be  mentioned  the  following: 

( 1  )  The  large  number  of  popular  works 
on  the  American  Indian  written  for  use  of 
children,  young  people  and  others.  There  is 
an  increasing  number  from  year  to  year  of  this 
general  class  of  books.  In  these,  Black  Hawk 
is  often  presented  as  "The  Indian  Patriot." 

(2)  At  the  close  of  the  Black  Hawk  war 
there  were  writers  and  artists  who  looked  upon 
the  Indian  as  a  vanishing  race,  and  set  them- 
selves to  the  task  of  recording  with  brush  and 
pen  the  people  and  scenes  of  the  country  in 
their  aboriginal  state.  Prominent  among  these 
are  the  following: 

"The  North  American  Indian,"  two  large 
volumes,   1841,  by  George  Catlin. 

"History  of  the  Indian  Tribes  of  North 
America,"  three  large  volumes,  1838,  by  Mc- 
Kenney  and  Hall. 

"The  Aboriginal  Portfolio,"  by  J.  O.  Lewis, 
1835. 

Each  of  the  three  above  mentioned  works 
contains  fine  colored  portraits,  painted  from 
life,  of  leading  Indians  of  their  day,  prominent 
among  them  being  Black  Hawk,  Keokuk,  and 
others  of  the  Sauk  and  Fox  tribes. 

(3)  Biographies  of  Abraham  Lincoln  and 
of  many  other  prominent  Americans,  relating 
to  their  Black  Hawk  war  experiences. 


Black    Hawk's    Watch    Tower 


Page     Sixty-two 


(4)  Historical  works;  school  books;  en- 
cyclopedias; U.  S.  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  etc., 
etc. 

From  all  these  it  may  be  inferred  there  is 
scarcely  a  library  of  note  in  the  world  which 
does  not  contain  some  notice  of  the  interest- 
ing Black  Hawk  country. 

Much  additional  publicity  is  given  through 
the  designation:     "Black  Hawk  Division"   of 


men  trained  for  the  World  war  at  Camp  Grant ; 
the  "Black  Hawk  Division  of  the  Illinois 
Teachers'  Association;"  Black  Hawk  hotel,  at 
Davenport,  Iowa,  and  other  cities;  Black 
Hawk  Grill,  on  Wabash  Avenue,  Chicago,  and 
the  numerous  historical  spots  not  only  of 
ILinois,  but  of  Wisconsin,  Minnesota  and  Iowa, 
where  are  related  the  connection  which  this 
famed  war  chief  had  with  that  particular  place. 
At  a  number  of  these  places  imposing  monu- 
ments have  been  erected  at  State  expense. 


Black  Hawk — The  Man 


H 


is  ere 


do 


"We  thank  the  Great  Spirit  for  all  the  good 
he  has  conferred  upon  us." 

"We  are  nothing  compared  to  His  power, 
and  we  feel  and  know  it." 

•JP*  •*•  •*■ 

"I  never  take  a  drink  of  water  from  a  spring 
without  being  mindful  of  His  goodness." 

A  Religious  Observance: 

"My  eldest  son  was  taken  sick  and  died.  He 
had  always  been  a  dutiful  child  and  had  just 
grown  to  manhood.  Soon  after,  my  youngest 
daughter,  an  interesting  and  affectionate  child, 
died  also.  This  was  a  hard  stroke,  because  I 
loved  my  children.  In  my  distress  I  left  the 
noise  of  the  village  and  built  my  lodge  on  a 
mound  in  the  corn  field  and  enclosed  it  with  a 
fence,  around  which  I  planted  corn  and  beans. 
Here  I  was  with  my  family  alone.  I  gave  every- 
thing I  had  away  and  reduced  myself  to  pover- 
ty. The  only  covering  I  retained  was  a  piece 
of  buffalo  robe.  I  blacked  my  face  and  resolved 
on  fasting  for  twenty-four  moons,  for  the  loss 
of  my  two  children — drinking  only  of  water 
during  the  day  and  eating  sparingly  of  boiled 
corn  at  sunset.    I  fulfilled  my  promise,  hoping 

that  the  Great  Spirit  would  take  pity  on  me." 

— Autobiography,  p.  72. 

His  character: 

Every  adjective,  good  and  bad  has  been  used 
by  writers  in  describing  the  character  of  Black 
Hawk.    He  has  been  called  noble,  and  puerile; 


humane  and  bloodthirsty;  honest  and  treacher- 
ous; weak  and  forceful. 

In  our  estimate  of  a  man's  inner  motives 
we  must  trust  to  the  testimony  of  those  closest 
to  him  in  life.  In  Black  Hawk's  case  we  have 
the  word  of  the  children  and  grandchildren  of 
those  pioneers  who  settled  in  Black  Hawk's  vil- 
lage ;  who  associated  with  him ;  quarreled  with 
him,  and  finally  volunteered  to  serve  in  driving 
him  from  the  land  in  the  war  which  bears  his 
name.  The  writer  has  spent  many  an  hour 
listening  to  the  narratives  of  the  descendants 
of  these  pioneers;  hearing  the  testimony  of 
many  of  them.  Strangely  enough,  everything 
considered,  quarrels,  war  and  all,  we  have  not 
heard  an  unfavorable  comment.  Summed  up, 
the  verdict  is  about  as  follows:  "Black  Hawk 
was  all  right.  If  people  had  treated  him  right, 
he  would  never  have  made  any  trouble." 

Aside  from  such  testimony  as  the  descend- 
ants of  his  white  neighbors  are  able  to  give, 
we  should  recognize  the  fact  that  the  Indians 
had  a  culture,  traditions  and  customs  as  deep- 
ly and  firmly  fixed  and  as  inviolable  as  those  of 
the  white  race.  There  were  wide  differences. 
Each  held  the  other's  rule  of  conduct  in  con- 
tempt, and  this  in  itself  caused  misunderstand- 
ings, bitter  criticism,  and  often  to  open  hos- 
tility. They  simply  would  not  understand  each 
other. 

Black  Hawk's  private  life  has  never  been 
assailed.  His  service  to  his  people  was  such 
that  a  large,  respectable  element  of  them  made 
him  their  leader,  and  those  of  the  white  race 
who  knew  him  best  called  him  a  good  man. 


Page    Sixty -three 


Black   Hawk's    Watch    Tower 


A  Fox  Indian  at  the  Watch  Tower,   1925 


Results  of  the  Black  Hawk  War 


The  long  line  of  Illinois  volunteers,  1 ,800 
in  number,  and  the  keel-boats,  with  their  400 
to  500  regulars,  left  the  Watch  Tower  and 
vicinity  May  10th,  1832.  They  were  in  the 
service  for  the  express  purpose  of  fighting  In- 
dians;   but    for    the    benefit    of    their    fellow- 


Americans  they  were  more  than  soldiers.  They 
became  the  explorers  of  lands  hitherto  un- 
known to  the  white  man.  It  is  true  that  mis- 
sionaries and  traders  had  threaded  their  way 
through  much  of  it,  but  the  volunteers  were 
farmers,   business  and   professional   men  with 


Black   Hawk's   Watch   Tower 


Page     Sixty-four 


Relies  front  Black  Hawk's  Village  Site 
Brooches,  buckles,  finger  rings,  piece  of  black  cloth,  arrow-heads,  gun  flints,  and  hammer  from 
flintlock  gun.  Three  of  the  buttons  are  of  the  description  of  those  to  be  used  by  the  U.  S.  Kifle 
Regiment,  as  per  General  Orders,  March  17,  1814,  viz:  "Flat  yellow  buttons  which  shall  exhibit 
a  bugle  surrounded  by  stars,  with  the  number  of  the  regiment  within  the  curve  of  the  bugle." 
These  relics  are  in  possession  of  the  Rock  Island  County  Historical  Society. 


a  different  viewpoint.  The  "second  army"  of 
volunteers,  recruited  after  Stillman's  defeat, 
added  greatly  to  this  number  of  explorers. 

Not  only  did  the  soldier  by  word  of  mouth 
spread  the  news  of  this  "newly  discovered 
paradise,"  but  the  press  of  the  country  added 
its  strength  to  the  cause.  We  will  quote 
Thwaites,  of  the  Wisconsin  Historical  Society, 
on  this  subject : 

"During  and  immediately  following  the 
Black  Hawk,  war  the  newspapers  of  the  eastern 
States  were  filled  with  descriptions,  more  or 
less  florid,  of  the  scenic  charms  of,  and  the 
possibilities  for  extractive  industries  in  the 
Rock  river  valley;  of  the  groves  and  prairies 
on  every  hand.     *     *     *     From  the  press  were 


issued  books  and  pamphlets  by  the  score,  giv- 
ing sketches  of  the  war  and  accounts  of  the 
newly  discovered  paradise." 

All  northwestern  Illinois  and  southwestern 
Wisconsin  profited  by  this  liberal  advertising, 
and  caused  its  settlement  much  more  rapidly 
than  otherwise  would  have  been  the  case. 

Speaking  of  the  benefits  to  the  State  of  Iowa, 
Shambaugh-Upham  have  the  following  to  say: 
"The  'Scott'  or  Black  Hawk'  purchase  *  * 
just  preceded  the  first  general  and  permanent 
occupation  of  the  Iowa  country  by  the  whites, 
and  may  be  regarded  as  the  opening  wedge  by 
which  the  settlers  gradually  pushed  the  Indians 
westward  and  out  of  the  State" — (Iowa  and 
war). 


I'  a  x  e     S  i  x  I  y  •  f  i  v  c 


Black    Hawk's    Watch    Tower 


Roll  Call  of  Counties 


The  following  named  counties  were  repre- 
sented in  the  volunteer  army  in  the  Black 
Hawk  war,  1831  and  1832. 

Obviously,  the  task  would  be  too  great  for 
this  modest  volume  to  print  a  list  of  all  who 
were  enrolled.  Nor  are  we  giving  the  long  list 
of  notable  officers  above  the  rank  of  captain. 
The  object  herein  is  to  indicate  the  extent  of 
each  county's  response  when  Governor  Rey- 
nolds called  for  volunteers  to  drive  out  the 
Indians.  For  this  purpose,  only  the  captain  and 
his  first  and  second  lieutenants  are  named. 
They  are  copied  from  "Record  of  Services, 
Illinois  Soldiers  in  Black  Hawk  and  Mexican 
wars,"  printed  by  State  authority,  1882. 

Not  all  companies  enrolled  are  to  be  found 
in  the  printed  records.  Again,  companies  with 
their  full  enrollment  are  found  on  the  records 
with  no  designation  as  to  the  county  from 
which  they  were  recruited.  Thus  the  reader 
will  see  there  is  much  room  for  disappointment 
as  he  scans  the  pages  for  companies  he  knows 
to  have  served. 
Adams    County — Alexander   White,    capt. ;    Tolbert 

Shipley,    1  st  lieut. 
David    Crow,     capt.  ;     Christopher     Howard,      1  st 

lieut.;  Elijah  G.  Lillard,  2nd  lieut. 
Alexander  County — Henry  L.  Webb,  capt. ;  Richard 

H.  Price,   1st  lieut.;  David  H.  Moore  and  James 

D.  Morris,  2nd  Leuts. 
Bond     County — Benjamin     James,     capt. ;     Calvert 

Roberts,    1st  lieut.;  W.  D.  Shirley,  2nd  lieut. 
John  Stout,  capt.;  John  Stropton,    1st  lieut.;  John 

P.  Hunter,  2nd  lieut. 
Benj.    James,    capt.;    John    McAdams,     1st    lieut.; 

William  Clouse,  2nd  lieut. 
Carroll     County — Thos.     Carlin,     capt. ;     Jesse     V. 

Mounts,    1st  lieut.;  Geo.  D.  Laurens,   2nd  lieut. 
Clark  County — Royal  A.   Nott,  capt. ;  Daniel  Poor- 
man,    1st  lieut.;   George  W.    Young,    2nd   lieut. 
John   F.    Richardson,    capt.  ;    Woodford    Dulaney, 

1st  lieut.;  Justin  Harlin,  2nd  lieut. 
Clay  County — John  Onslott,  capt. ;  Trussey  P.  Han- 
son,   1st  lieut.;  Alfred  J.  Moore,  2nd  lieut. 
Clinton  County — Andrew  Bankson,  capt. ;  Godfrey 

Ammons,   1st  lieut.;  James  J.  Justice,  2nd  lieut. 
Coles  County — Thos.   B.   Ross,   capt. ;   James  Shaw, 

1st  lieut.  ;  Isaac  Lewis  and  Thomas  Sconce,  2nd 

lieuts. 
Cook  County — Gholson  Kercheval,  capt. ;  Geo.  W. 

Dale,    1st  lieut.;  John  S.  C.  Hogan,  2nd  lieut. 
James    Walker,    capt.;    Chester   Smith,     1st    lieut.; 

George  Hollenboch,  2nd  lieut. 
Holden     Seission,     capt. ;     Robert     Stephens,      1  st 

lieut.;  William  H.  Bradford,  2nd  lieut. 


Joseph   Napier,   capt. ;   Alanson   Sweet,    1  st   lieut. ; 

Sherman  King,  2nd  lieut. 
Abner  Eads,  capt. ;  William  A.  Stewart,    1  st  lieut. ; 

John  W.  Caldwell,   2nd  lieut. 
Crawford   County — Alex  M.    Houston,    capt. ;    Geo. 

W.    Lagon,     1st    lieut.;    James    Boatright,     2nd 

lieut. 
Wm.    Highsmith,    capt.;    Samuel    V.    Allison,     1st 

lieut.;  John  H.  McMickle,  2nd  lieut. 
Edgar  County — Samuel  Brimberry,  capt. ;  Philip  B. 

Smith,   1  st  lieut. 
Isaac  Sanford,   capt. ;  William  Runyan,    1  st  lieut. ; 

Aloysius  Brown,  2nd  lieut. 
Robert    Griffin,    capt.  ;    George    Moke,     1  st    lieut. ; 

William  K.  Redman,  2nd  lieut. 
Jonathan    Mayo,    capt.;    Edward    Y.    Russell,     1st 

lieut. ;  John  S.   McConkey,   2nd  lieut. 
Edwards  County — Solomon  Hunter,  capt. ;  William 

Carabaugh,    1st   lieut.;   John   S.    Rotramel,    2nd 

lieut. 
Champion   S.    Mading,    capt.;   William   Curtis,    1st 

lieut. ;   Thomas  Sanders,   2nd  lieut. 

Fayette  County — Samuel  Huston,  capt. ;  John  Wat- 
wood,    1st  lieut.;  Henry  Brown,  2nd  lieut. 
John    Dement,    capt.;    Dem's'y    Yarborough,     1st 

lieut.;  Abraham  Starnes,   2nd  lieut. 
Franklin  County — George  P.   Bowyer,   capt. ;  Jacob 

Phillips,   1st  lieut.;  Thomas  P.  Moore,  2nd  lieut. 
Wm.    J.    Stephenson,    capt. ;    Tramel    Ewing,    2nd 

lieut. 
Obediah    West,    capt.;    Robert    West,     1st    lieut.; 

Hugh  Parks,    2nd   lieut. 
Wm.  S.  Stephenson,  capt.;  James  G.  Corder,    1st 

lieut. 
Fulton  County — David  W.   Barnes,  capt. ;  Thos  W. 

Clark,    1st  lieut.;  Asa  Langford,   2nd  lieut. 
Asel  F.  Ball,  capt.;  William  D.  Baldwin,   1st  lieut.; 

David  S.  Baughman,  2nd  lieut. 
John   Sain,    capt. ;    Livings   Burrington,     1  st   lieut. ; 

Elijah  Wilcoxson,  2nd  lieut. 
Asel  F.  Ball,  capt.;  Thomas  W.  Clark,    1st  lieut.; 

Asa  Langford,  2nd  lieut. 
Gallatin  County — John   Hays,    capt. ;   Wm.    Robert- 
son,   1st  lieut.;  Daniel  Wood,   2nd  lieut. 
David   B.   Russell,   capt. ;   Wm.    Pankey,    1  st   lieut. 
Achilles  Coffee,  capt.;  Daniel  Botright,    1st  lieut.; 

Willis  Stricklen,  2nd  lieut. 
Harrison  Wilson,  capt. ;  John  Logston,    1  st  lieut. ; 

John  Willis,   2nd  lieut. 
Joel  Holliday,  capt. 
James  Caldwell,    capt.;   Turner  Cook,    1st   lieut.; 

John  J.  Dean,  2nd  lieut. 
Greene   County — James   Kincaid,    capt. ;    John   Fry, 

1st  lieut.;  Royal  O.  Pitts,  2nd  lieut. 
Alexander  Smith,  capt. 
Gershon     Patterson,     capt. ;     Jacob     Baccus,      1  st 

lieut.;  Samuel  Bowman,   2nd  lieut. 
Charles   Gregory,   capt.;   Thomas   Hill,    1st   lieut.; 

Levi  Whiteside,  2nd  lieut. 

(CONTINUED    ON   PAGE   67) 


Black    Hawk's    Watch    Tower 


Page     Sixty -six 


Jefferson  Davis 


Lieutenant  in  Black  Hawk  War;   United  States  Senator   1847-1853; 

Secretary  of  War  1853-1857;  United  States  Senator  1857- 

1861  ;  President  of  Confederacy  1861  to  1865. 


Lieutenant  Davis  served  throughout  both 
the  1831  and  1832  campaigns  of  the  Black 
Hawk  war.  In  1831  he  was  with  Gen.  E.  P. 
Gaines  and  the  regulars  in  the  advance  from 
Fort   Armstrong  upon   Black   Hawk's  village, 


and  took  part  in  cannonading  Vandruff's 
Island,  which  lies  in  front  of  the  Watch  Tower. 
In  1832  he  served  as  adjutant  to  Col.  Zachary 
Taylor;  ascended  Rock  river  with  the  regulars, 
and  saw  the  first  real  battle  of  his  life  at  Wis- 


Page    Sixty-sev  <■  n 


Black    Hawk's    Watch    Tower 


consin  Heights,  where  he  was  much  impressed 
with  the  generalship  displayed  by  the  Red 
Man.  He  spoke  of  it  a  half  century  afterward 
as  "The  most  brilliant  exhibition  of  military 
tactics  that  I  ever  witnessed"  (p.  64  Trans.  111. 
H.  S.   1923).    At  the  close  of  the  war  Lieuten- 


ant Davis  was  assigned  to  duty  as  assistant  to 
Lieut  Robert  Anderson  in  escorting  Black 
Hawk  and  his  associate  leaders,  as  prisoners  of 
war,  to  Fort  Armstrong  and  on  to  Jefferson 
Barracks— (Wis.  H.  C,  X.,  p.   172). 


Roll  Call  of  Counties 

(CONTINUED   PROW    PAGE  65) 


Greene  County —  ( Continued  ) 

Thomas  Chapman,  capt. 

Jeremiah    Smith,    capt.;    James    Allen,     1st    Keut. ; 

Jacob  Wagner,  2nd  lieut. 
Jacob  Fry,   capt. ;  Samuel  Smith,    1  st  lieut. ;  E.   D. 

Baker,  2nd  lieut. 
Samuel    Smith,    capt.;    E.    D.    Baker,     1st    lieut.; 

Mathias  S.  Link,  2nd  lieut. 
Thomas     McDow,     capt.;     James     Whitlock,      1st 

lieut. ;  Silas  Crain,  2nd  lieut. 
David    Crow,     capt. ;    Christopher    Howard,     1  st 

lieut. ;  Elijah  G.  Lillard,  2nd  lieut. 
L.  W.  Goodan,  capt.;  John  Reed,    1st  lieut.;  Wm. 

Cantrell,  2nd  lieut. 
Samuel  Smith,   capt.;   James  D.   Scott,    1st  lieut.; 

Jacob  Waggoner,  2nd  lieut. 
Aaron  Bannon,  capt. ;   Harvey  Jarboe,    1  st  lieut. ; 

Job  Collins,   2nd  lieut. 
Hamilton  County — Ardin   Biggerstaff,   capt. ;    Lewis 

Lane,    1st  lieut.;  Wesley  W.  Wiltes,   2nd  lieut. 
James  Hall,   capt.;  John   Burton,    1st  lieut.;   John 

Townsend,    2nd   lieut. 
Hancock   County — James  White,   capt. ;   John   Rey- 
nolds,  1st  lieut.;  James  Miller,  2nd  lieut. 
Jackson  County — Alexen'r  M.  Jenkins,  capt.;  James 

Herald,   1st  lieut.;  Silas  Hickman,  2nd  lieut. 
Jefferson  County — James  Bowman,   capt. ;  Franklin 

S.   Casey,    1st  lieut.;  Green  Deprist,   2nd   lieut. 
Jo  Daviess  County — Charles   McCoy,    capt. ;    James 

M.  Miller,   1st  lieut.;  Jesse  Yount,  2nd  lieut. 
Benj.  J.  Aldenrath,  capt.;  John  C.  Robinson,    1st 

lieut. ;  Daniel  P.  Price  and  James  Simonds,  2nd 

lieuts. 
H.  Hezekiah  Gear,  capt.;  J.  W.  Foster,    1st  lieut.; 

Alesworth  Baker,  2nd  lieut. 
Samuel  H.  Scales,  capt. ;  John  L.  Soals,    1  st  lieut. ; 

George  Wells,  2nd  lieut. 
Jonathan  Craig,  capt.;  Thomas  Kilgore,    1st  lieut.; 

Robert  C.  Bourne,  2nd  lieut. 
L.  P.  Vansburgh,  capt.;  John  W.  Blackstone,    1st 

lieut.;  Henry  Cavener,  2nd  lieut. 
James  Craig,  capt.;  H.  T.  Camp,    1st  lieut.;  Leon- 
ard Goss  and  Orn  Smith,  2nd  lieuts. 
James  W.  Stephenson,  capt. 
Enoch    Duncan,    capt.;    James    K.    Hammett,     1st 

lieut.;  Alexander  Kerr,  2nd  lieut. 
,  capt. ;  Alex.  Kerr,    1  st  lieut. ;  Enoch 

Duncan,  2nd  lieut. 

-,  capt. ;  Harvey  Cavanaw,    1  st  lieut. ; 


D.  S.  Harris,   2nd  lieut. 

— ,    capt.;    James    L.    Kirkpatrick,     1st 


lieut. 


Jas.    M.    Strode,    capt.;   John   Larrison,    1st   lieut.; 
Joseph  Payne,   2nd  lieut. 

Knox  County William   McMurtry,    capt. ;    Geo.    G. 

Lattimore,    1st  lieut.;  Turner  R.  Rountree,  2nd 
lieut. 
LaSalle    County — Geo.     McFadden,     capt. ;    W.     F. 

Walker,    1st  lieut.;  Oliver  Bangs,   2nd  lieut. 
Lawrence  County — John  Barnes,  capt. ;  Elijah  Mays, 
1st  lieut.;  Daniel  Morris,   2nd  lieut. 
Abner  Greer,  capt.;  David  D.   Marney,    1st  lieut.; 
Aaron  Wells,  2nd  lieut. 
McDonough  County — Peter  Butler,  capt. ;  John  Wil- 
son, 2nd  lieut. 
McLean  County — Robert  McClure,   capt. ;   John   H. 
S.  Rhodes,    1st  lieut.;  Thomas  Glenn,  2nd  lieut 
M.    L.    Covell,    capt.;    Wm.    Dimmet,     1st    lieut.; 

Richard  Edwards,  2nd  lieut. 
M.    L.    Covell,    capt.;    Aschel   Gridley,    1st   lieut.; 
Moses  Baldwin,  2nd  lieut. 
Macon  County — William  Warnick,  capt.;  I.  C.  Pugh, 
1st  lieut.;  E.  Freeman,  2nd  lieut. 
James     Johnson,     capt. ;     William     Warnick,      1  st 

lieut.;  I.  C.  Pugh,  2nd  lieut. 
John   G.    Adams,   capt.;   Benj.    Briggs,    1st   lieut.; 
John  O.  Hyde,  2nd  lieut. 
Macoupin  County — John  Harris,  capt. ;  William  G. 
Coop,    1st  lieut.;  Jeff.   Weatherford,    2nd   lieut. 
Bennet  Nolen,   capt.;  Jesse  Scott,    1st  lieut.;  John 
Allen,  2nd  lieut. 

(  Capt.;  John  Yowell,    1st  lieut. 

Madison    County  —  Nathaniel     Buckmaster,     capt. ; 
Jacob    Swaggart,     1  st    lieut. ;    William    Tindall, 
2nd  lieut. 
Aaron  Armstrong,  capt. 
William    Moore,    capt.;    Benjamin    Chesney,     1st 

lieut.;  William  F.  Hill,  2nd  lieut. 
Julius   L.    Barnsback,    capt.;    Ryland    Ballard,    1st 

lieut.;  Jesse  Bartlett,  2nd  lieut. 
John  Thomas,  capt.;  Gideon  Simpson,    1st  lieut.; 
George  Kinney  and  Wm.  S.  Thomas,  2nd  lieuts. 
Solomon    Pruitt,    capt.;    Josiah    Little,     1st    lieut.; 

Jacob  Swegart,  2nd  lieut. 
Josiah   Little,    capt.;   William   Arundell,    1st   lieut. 
David    Smith,    capt. ;    John    Lee,     1  st    lieut. ;    John 
Umphrey,  2nd  lieut. 
Marion  County — Wm.   N.    Dobbins,   capt. ;   Stephen 

Yocan,   1st  lieut.;  James  Gray,  2nd  lieut. 
Monroe  County — Thomas  Harrison,  capt. ;  Edward 
T.  Morgan,   1st  lieut.;  Thomas  McRoberts,  2nd 
lieut. 

(CONTINUED    ON    PAGE   <;'.)) 


Black    Hawk's   Watch    Tower 


Page    Sixty-eight 


Robert  Anderson 

Served  in  Black  Hawk  War,  Seminole  War,  Mexican  War;  was  the 
Hero  of  Fort  Sumpter,  which  he  commanded  at  the  time  it  was  bom- 
barded by  the  Conferedates,  April  12-13,   1861.    He  retired  as  Brevet 
Major-General,  United  States  Army,  1865. 

Speaking  of  his  Black  Hawk  war  service, 
General  Anderson  says:  "*  *  I  joined  Gen- 
eral Atkinson's  expedition  at  Rock  Island 
(Fort  Armstrong).    After  a  considerable  aug- 


mentation of  the  troops  at  Rock  Island  we 
moved  our  forces  up  Rock  river,  in  keel  boats, 
as  far  as  Dixon.  *  *  *  I  mustered  Abraham 
Lincoln  twice  into  the  service,  and  once  out. 


Page    Sixty-nine 


Black    Hawk's    Watch    Tower 


*  *  *  Of  course,  I  had  no  recollection  of 
Mr.  Lincoln,  but  when  President  he  reminded 
me  of  the  fact.  Governor  Reynolds  gave  me  a 
commission  of  inspector  general  in  the  Illinois 
volunteer  service,  with  the  rank  of  colonel. 

"From  Dixon's  Ferry  I  was  sent  by  Atkinson 
with  dispatches  for  General  Scott  at  Rock 
Island,  and  to  report  to  him  for  duty.  *  *  * 
General  Scott  having  received  information 
fiom  Colonel  Taylor  of  the  capture  of  Black 
Hawk  and  a  few  of  his  chiefs,  he  detailed  me 
with  a  guard  to  go  to  Fort  Crawford  (Prairie 
du  Chien)  for  them  and  bring  them  to  Fort 
Armstrong.  *  *  *  I  delivered  my  orders 
to   Colonel   Taylor.     By   that   time    I    had   the 


cholera  myself  and  was  scarcely  fit  for  duty. 
Colonel  Taylor,  therefore,  assigned  to  me  for 
my  assistance  in  returning  with  the  Indians  to 
Fort  Armstrong,  his  adjutant,  Lieut.  Jefferson 
Davis.  We  took  with  us  Black  Hawk  and  his 
two  sons,  the  Prophet,  and  some  other  chiefs. 
On  reaching  Fort  Armstrong  the  cholera  was 
raging  so  violently  in  camp  that  General  Scott 
ordered  the  steamer  ("Warrior,"  Captain 
Throckmorton)  to  go  immediately  to  Jefferson 
Barracks. 

"It  was  my  first  service  in  the  field,  and  I 
entered  into  it  with  all  the  zeal  of  a  young 
officer  who  loved  his  profession." — (pp.    167- 

1 73  Wis.  Hist.  Colls.,  Vol.  X.) 


Roll  Call  of  Counties 

(CONTINUED  FROM    PAGE  07) 


Montgomery    County  —  Hiram     Roundtree,     capt. ; 

John    Kirkpatrick,     1st   lieut. ;    Thomas    Philips, 

2nd  lieut. 
Levi    D.    Boone,    capt.;    James    G.    Hinman,     1st 

lieut.;  Absalom  Cress,   2nd  lieut. 
Wm.    G.    Flood,    capt. ;    Edward    L.    Pearson,     1  st 

lieut. ;  Thomas  Crocker,    2nd  lieut. 
William  Gordon,  capt.;  Peter  Menard,    1st  lieut.; 

William  Morrison,  2nd  lieut. 
Morgan   County — Nathan    Winters,    capt. ;    John    D. 

Pinson,     1st    lieut.;    John    L.    Kirkpatrick,    2nd 

lieut. 
Cyrus  Matthews,  capt.;  William  Hunter,   1st  lieut.; 

W.  R.  Lindsay,  2nd  lieut. 
William  B.   Smith,   capt.;  Starkey  R.    Powell,    1st 

lieut.;  Willie  Myers,  2nd  lieut. 
William  T.  Givens,  capt.;  Walter  Butler,  1st  lieut.; 

Thomas  Wright,  2nd  lieut. 
Erastus  Wheeler,   capt. ;  John  T.  Lusk,    1  st  lieut. ; 

Richard  R.  Randle,  2nd  lieut. 
Allen  F.  Lindsey,  capt.;  William  Scott,    1st  lieut.; 

Isaac  R.  Bennett,   2nd  lieut. 
William   Gillham,    capt.;   Robert  H.    McDow,    1st 

lieut.;  James  Etheal,  2nd  lieut. 
George  T.  Bristow,  capt.;  Stephen  Henderson,  1st 

lieut.;  Walter  Ellis,  2nd  lieut. 
S.  T.   Mathews,   capt. ;  N.   H.   Johnson,    1  st  lieut. ; 

D.  B.  McConnell,  2nd  lieut. 
Walter  Butler,  capt.;  Thomas  P.  Ross,    1st  lieut.; 

Fleming  C.  Maupin,  2nd  lieut. 
Peoria  County — Abner  Eads,  capt. ;  Wm.  A.  Stew- 
art,   1st  lieut.;  John  W.  Caldwell,  2nd  lieut. 
Perry  County — David  Baldridge,  capt. ;  Jacob  Short, 

1st  lieut.;   John  Hansford,    2nd  lieut. 
William  Adair,   capt. 
Pike  County — William   Ross,    capt.;   Israel   N.    Bert, 

1st  lieut.;  Lewis  Allen,  2nd  lieut. 
Benjamin  Barney,  capt. 


Elisha   Petty,   capt.;   James  Ross,    1st   lieut.;   John 

W.  Birch,  2nd  lieut. 
Ozias  Hail,  capt. ;  David  Seeley,    1  st  lieut.  ;  Robert 

Goodin,  2nd  lieut. 

Pope   County — Charles   Dunn,    capt. ;    Joseph    Neal, 
1st   lieut.;    John   Raum   and    James   H.    McCol- 
ough,  2nd  lieuts. 
Jonathan    Durman,    capt. ;    Simon    S.    Bargar,     1  st 
lieut.;  Jacob  Benyard,  2nd  lieut. 
Putnam  County — George  B.    Wills,   capt. ;   Timothy 
Perkins,     1st   lieut.;    Samuel    D.    Laughlin,    2nd 
lieut. 
Robert  Barnes,  capt.;  William  M.  Neal,    1st  lieut.; 

John  Weir,  2nd  lieut. 
William    M.    Stewart,    capt.;    Mason    Wilson,     1st 

lieut.;   Livingston  Roberts,    2nd  lieut. 

William   Haws,    capt.;    James    Garvin,     1st    lieut.; 

Wm.  M.  Hart,  2nd  lieut. 

Randolph    County — Josiah    S.    Briggs,    capt. ;    John 

Morrison,  1st  lieut.;  John  Thompson,  2nd  lieut. 

James    Thompson,     capt. ;     Samuel     Barber,      1  st 

lieut.;  Wm.  H.  McDill,   2nd  lieut. 
Jacob  Feaman,   capt. 

James    Conner,    capt. ;    Mathew    Gray,     1  st    lieut. ; 
David  Wright,  2nd  lieut. 
Rock  Island  County — Benjamin  J.  Pike,  capt. ;  John 
W.    Spencer,     1st    lieut.;    Griffith    Aubery,    2nd 
lieut. 
John    W.    Kenney,    capt.;    Joseph    Danforth,     1st 
lieut.;  Ira  Wells,  2nd  lieut. 
NOTE. — A  pension  was  granted  as  late  as  1904  to  Mrs. 
Elizabeth    Mandler    Wells,    widow    of    2nd    Lieut.    Ira 
Wells,  for  his  services  in  the  Black  Hawk  war. 

Sangamon  County — Elijah  lies,  capt. ;  Jesse  M.  Har- 
rison,   1st  lieut.;  Henry  B.  Roberts,  2nd  lieut. 
Jacob    M.     Early,    capt. ;    G.    W.     Glasscock,     1  st 
lieut.;  B.  D.  Rusk,  2nd  lieut. 

(CONTINUED   OX    PAGE   71) 


Black    Hawk's    Watch    Tower 


Pace     Seventy 


Albert  Sydney  Johnston 

Lieutenant  in  Black  Hawk  War;   Secretary  of  War  for  the  Republic 

of  Texas;  Colonel  in  Mexican  War,  and  General  in  the  Confederate 

Army;  Killed  in  Battle  of  Shiloh,  April  6,   1862.    Regarded  by  many 

as  the  greatest  general  the  South  ever  produced. 


Albert  Sydney  Johnston  and  Jefferson  Davis 
were  classmates  at  West  Point,  and  both  came 
to  Fort  Armstrong  and  the  Watch  Tower  vil- 
lage in  the   Black  Hawk  war,   the   former  as 


assistant  adjutant  general  on  the  staff  of  Gen. 
Henry  Atkinson,  and  the  latter  as  adjutant  to 
Col.  Zachary  Taylor.  Both  were  serving  for 
the  first  time  in  the  business  of  war. 


Page    S  e  v  e  n  t  y - o  n  c 


Black    Hawk's    Watch    Tower 


Of  Johnston,  his  biographer  says:  '''Not 
only  are  all  the  official  documents  in  regard  to 
the  (Black  Hawk  war)  campaign  based  upon 
Lieutenant  Johnston's  report,  as  assistant  ad- 
jutant general  of  General  Atkinson,  but  his 
private  journal  furnished  the  most  exact  and 


authentic  account  of  the  transactions  against 
Black  Hawk." 

Lieutenant  Johnston  was  appointed  by  Gov- 
ernor Reynolds  acting  assistant  adjutant  gen- 
eral to  the  Illinois  volunteers  during  the  Black 
Hawk  war. 


Roll  Call  of  Counties 

(CONTINUED   KItOM   PAGE  69) 


Sangamon  County — (Continued) 

Seth    Pratt,    capt. ;    John   M.    Crabtree,     1st   lieut. ; 

Joseph   Leister,    2nd   lieut. 
Alexander  D.  Cox,  capt.;  Joseph  W.  Duncan,    1st 

lieut. ;  Thomas  T.  Clark,  2nd  lieut. 
Abraham  Lincoln,   capt. ;  Samuel   M.   Thompson, 

1st  lieut.;  John  Brannan,   2nd  lieut. 
M.    L.    Covell,    capt.;    Asahel   Gridley,    1st  lieut.; 

Moses  Baldwin,  2nd  lieut. 
Jacob  Ebey,  capt.;  Edward  Shaw,   1st  lieut.;  Win- 
slow  M.  Neal,  2nd  lieut. 
Japhet    A.    Ball,    capt.;    Alexander    D.    Cox,     1st 

lieut. ;  John  McCormack,  2nd  lieut. 
John    Dawson,    capt.;    Wm.    Dickrell,     1st    lieut.; 

John  Hornback,  2nd  lieut. 
L.  W.  Goodan,  capt.;  John  Reed,    1st  lieut.;  Wm. 

Cantrell,  2nd  lieut. 
Jesse  Claywell,  capt.;  John  Wilcoxson,    1st  lieut.; 

Rezen  H.  Constant,  2nd  lieut. 

,  capt. ;  Lowyel  Cox,    1  st  lieut. 

Reuben  Brown,   capt.;  William  Baker,    1st  lieut.; 

Daloss  Brown,  2nd  lieut. 
Thomas  Moffett,  capt.;  David  Black,    1st  lieut. 
,     capt. ;    Campbell     Shadrack,      1  st 

lieut.;  James  Watson,  2nd  lieut. 
Schuyler  County — William  C.  Ralls,  capt. ;  Radford 

M.  Wyatt,    1st  lieut. 
Alexander  White,  capt. ;  Tolbert  Shipley,  1st  lieut. 
Charles  S.  Dorsey,  capt.;  Thaddeus  Bowman,    1st 

lieut.;  William  Burns,  2nd  lieut. 
John  Stennett,  capt.;  Daniel  Mathoney,    1st  lieut.; 

Joel  Pennington,  2nd  lieut. 
M.    L.    Covell,    capt.;    Wm.    Dimmet,     1st    lieut.; 

Richard  Edwards,   2nd  lieut. 
Moses  G.  Wilson,  capt.;  Alex.  Hollingsworth,    1st 

lieut.;  Harvey  Skiles,  2nd  lieut. 
Wm.  C.  Ralls,  capt.;  James  Blackburn,    1st  lieut.; 

John  Stumet,  2nd  lieut. 
John    S.     Wilbourn,     capt. ;    William    Chase,     1  st 

lieut.;  James  H.  Blackman,  2nd  lieut. 
Shelby  County — Daniel   Price,   capt. ;  William  Will- 
iamson, 1st  lieut.;  Hiram  M.  Trimble,  2nd  lieut. 
Peter  Warren,  capt. ;  Archibald  Wynn,    1  st  lieut. ; 

Robert  T.  Brown,  2nd  lieut. 
St.   Clair  County — Adam  W.   Snyder,    capt. ;   James 

Winstanley,    1st  lieut.;  John  T.  Lusk,  2nd  lieut. 
Earl  Pierce,  capt.;  Banford  Morris,   1st  lieut.;  Lor- 

ing  Ames,  2nd  lieut. 


James  M.  Strode,  capt.;  John  Larrison,    1st  lieut.; 

Joseph  Payne,  2nd  lieut. 
Solomon  Miller,  capt. ;  John  Winstanley,   1  st  lieut. ; 

Samuel  B.  Chandler,  2nd  lieut. 
Solomon  Miller,   capt.;  Jacob  S.   Stout,    1st  lieut.; 

William  H.  Phillips,  2nd  lieut. 
William    Moore,    capt.;    Isaac    Griffin,     1st    lieut.; 

A.  T.  Fike,  2nd  lieut. 
James    Winstanley,     capt.;     Aaron    Stookey,      1st 

lieut.;  David  Snier,  2nd  lieut. 
John    Tate,     capt.;     Joshua     Hughes,      1st    lieut.; 

Abram  B.  Vandigrif,  2nd  lieut. 
Tazewell    County — John    G    Adams,    capt.;    Benj. 

Briggs,   1st  lieut.;  John  O.  Hyde,  2nd  lieut. 
Union  County — B.   B.   Craig,   capt. ;   William  Craig, 

1st  lieut.;  John  Newton,  2nd  lieut. 
Vermilion  County — Morgan  L.   Payne,  capt. ;  Noah 

Ginion  and  John  Black,    1st  lieuts. ;  Thos.   Mc- 

Connell,  2nd  lieut. 
John   B.   Thomas,   capt.;   William  Nox,    1st  lieut.; 

Gabriel  G.   Rice,   2nd  lieut. 
Eliakem  Ashton,  capt.;  William  Mackin,    1st  lieut. 
James     Palmer,     capt.;     John     Light,      1st     lieut.; 

Joseph  Jackson,  2nd  lieut. 
Wabash  County — John  Arnold,  capt. ;  George  Dan- 

forth,    1st  lieut.;  Samuel  Fisher,   2nd  lieut. 
Elias   Jordan,    capt.;    James    Kennedy,    1st   lieut.; 

John  N.   Barnett,   2nd  lieut. 
Isaac  Parmeter,  capt. ;  Samuel  Fisher,    1  st  lieut. 
Warren    County — Peter    Butler,    capt. ;    James    Mc- 

Calen,   1st  lieut.;  John  Wilson,  2nd  lieut. 
Washington   County — James  Burns,    capt. ;   Andrew 

Lyons,    1st  lieut.;  Cyrus  Sawyers,  2nd  lieut. 
,  capt  ;  William  Wood,    1st  lieut. 

Wayne  County — James  N.  Clark,  capt. ;  David  Ray, 
1st  lieut.;  Jesse  Laird,  2nd  lieut. 
Benjamin  G  Wells,  capt.;  John  Brown,    1st  lieut.; 
James  B.  Carter,  2nd  lieut. 
White  County — John  Haynes,  capt. ;  Thomas  Fields, 
1st  lieut.;  Reuben  Emerson,  2nd  lieut. 
William  Thomas,   capt. ;   Henry  Horn,    1  st  lieut. ; 

Joel  Rice,  2nd  lieut. 
Daniel  Powell,  capt.;  Joshua  Blackard,    1st  lieut.; 

James  Eubanks,  2nd  lieut. 
David  Powell,  capt. 

John  McCann,  capt.;  Samuel  Slocumb,    1st  lieut.; 
Walter  Burress,  2nd  lieut. 

(CONTINUED   ON   PAGE  73) 


Black   Hawk's    Watch    Tower 


I*  a  i:  e    S  <■  v  c  n  t  y  -  t  w  <> 


Joseph  Eggleston  Johnston 

Lieutenant  in  Black  Hawk  War;  a  Colonel  in  Mexican  War;  Quar- 
master  General  of  the  United  States  Army  in  1  860,  with  the  rank  of 
Brigadier-General.  He  was  one  of  the  ablest  Generals  in  the  Con- 
federate Army.  He  surrendered  to  Sherman  April  26th,  seventeen 
days  after  Lees  surrender  to  Grant.    He  later  served  as  Congressman. 


He  graduated  from  West  Point  1829,  in  the 
same  class  with  R.  E.  Lee.  His  first  war  serv- 
ice was  in  the  Black  Hawk  war.  He  had  been 
on  garrison  duty  at  Fortress  Monroe,  Va., 
1831-1832,  and  came  west  with  the  1,000 
regulars  under  Gen.  Winfleld  Scott.  More 
terrifying,  perhaps,  than  an  Indian  war  was 
the  cholera  which  broke  out  among  Scott's 
men  en  route  to  Fort  Armstrong  and  took  in 


death  one  out  of  every  four  men.  Lieutenant 
Johnston  attended  the  Council  of  Sept.  21, 
1832,  called  at  Fort  Armstrong,  but  actually 
held  just  opposite  on  the  west  side  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi, on  account  of  the  cholera  at  the  Fort, 
in  which  a  treaty  was  made  with  the  Sauk  and 
Fox  Indians  for  the  "Black  Hawk  Purchase" 
of  lands  in  Iowa.  Lieutenant  Johnston  signed 
the  treaty  as  an  attesting  witness. 


P m  a o    Seventy-three 


Black    Hawk's    Watch    Tower 


The  (reek   on  the   Wateh   Tower  Traet 


Roll  Call  of  Counties 

(CONTINUED   PROM   PAGE  71) 


The  following  officers  have  no  address  given: 

Earl  Pierce,   capt. ;   Banford  Morris,    1st  lieut. ;   Lor- 
ing  Ames,  2nd  lieut. 

Charles   S.    Dorsey,    capt. ;    Thaddeus   Bowman,    1  st 
lieut.;  William  Burns,  2nd  lieut. 

Alexander  D.    Cox,    capt.;    Joseph   W.    Duncan,    1st 
lieut.;  Thomas  T.  Clark,  2nd  lieut. 

Seth  Pratt,  capt.;  John  M.  Crabtree,    1st  lieut.;  Jos. 
Leister,  2nd  lieut. 

John  S.  Wolbourn,  capt.;  William  Chase,    1st  lieut.; 
James  H.  Blackman,  2nd  lieut. 

James  W.    Stephenson,    capt. ;    James  K.    Hammett, 
1st  lieut.;  Alex.  Kerr,   2nd  lieut. 

Enoch  Duncan,  capt. ;  Alex.  Kerr,    1  st  lieut. ;  Enoch 
Duncan,  2nd  lieut. 


,  capt. ;  Harvey  Cavanaw,    1  st  lieut. ;  D. 

S.  Harris,   2nd  lieut. 

-,  capt. ;  James  L.  Kirkpatrick,    1  st  lieut. 


I.  M.  Gillispie,  capt.;  Barnet  Wever,  1st  lieut.;  Ed- 
win Stanfield,  2nd  lieut. 

James  Gregory,  capt. ;  Wm.  E.  Williams,  1  st  lieut. ; 
James  Goodwin,   2nd  lieut. 

Corbin  R.  Hutt,  capt. ;  William  Jeremiah,  1  st  lieut. ; 
John  A.  Green,  2nd  lieut. 

Milton  M.  Maughs,  capt.;  Moses  Swan,  1st  lieut.; 
Mathew  Johnson,  2nd  lieut. 

,  capt.;  William  Johnson,    1st  lieut. 

I.  R.  B.  Gardenier,  capt.;  G.  W.  Campbell,  1st 
lieut.;  Charles  Gratiot,  2nd  lieut. 

Nicholas  Dowling,  capt. 

Clack  Stone,  capt.;  Heber  Morris,  1st  lieut.;  Samuel 
Jimmerson,  2nd  lieut. 


Black   Hawk's   Watch   Tower 


Page     Seventy -four 


//a  rnp  ton 


Map   showing:  locution   of   Black   Hawk   Watch   Tower  and  the  territory   for   which   the 

Black  Hawk   War  was  fought 


Territory  for  which  the  Black  Hawk  War  was  Fought 


The  above  map  shows  the  village  site  and 
the  territory  which  Black  Hawk  wished  par- 
ticularly to  retain  for  his  followers.  It  is  bound- 
ed by  the  Mississippi  and  Rock  rivers  and 
Pleasant  Valley.  It  was  from  this  parcel  of 
their  one-time  empire  that  he  ordered  the  white 
settlers  in  the  Spring  of  1 83 1 ,  telling  them, 
as  recorded  by  one  of  them — J.  W.  Spencer,  in 
his  "Reminiscences,"  p.  34  —  they  must  go 
either  south  of  Rock  river  or  east  of  Pleasant 
Valley. 

This  tract  has  an  unbroken  ridge  or  back- 
bone extending  all  the  way  from  Carbon  Cliff 


to  Black  Hawk's  Watch  Tower,  the  last  named 
being  its  most  charming  natural  feature.  This 
ridge  has  many  indentations,  with  projecting 
bluffs  between,  which  provide  picturesque 
homesites  for  the  residents  of  Moline,  East 
Moline,  Silvis,  Rock  Island  and  others,  while 
the  river  banks  are  becoming  increasingly 
popular  for  Summer  cottages. 

That  it  has  long  been  a  favorite  spot  is 
proven  by  the  numerous  mounds  built  by  pre- 
historic peoples,  and  by  fragments  of  pottery, 
chipped  flints,  arrowheads,  and  implements  of 
stone  found  scattered  from  end  to  end  of  this 
ridge  and  about  its  slopes  and  shores. 


P  a  K  e     S  c  v  c  11  t  y  -  f  i  v  e 


Black    Hawk's    Watch    Tower 


Oration  of  Black  Hawk,  Prisoner 


The  last  bloody  clash  at  arms  of  the  Black 
Hawk  war  passed  into  history  at  the  Bad  Axe 
on  August  2,  1832.  Black  Hawk  escaped  and 
fled  to  a  Winnebago  village.  No  tribe  at  this 
time  would  take  the  risk — with  so  large  an 
army  of  whites  in  the  field — of  befriending 
him.  The  squaws,  however,  were  loyal  to  their 
race,  and  made  for  the  fallen  chief  a  "white 
dress  of  deer  skin"  to  replace  his  worn,  tattered 
garb.  On  the  27th  of  August,  the  Winne- 
bagoes  delivered  Black  Hawk,  a  prisoner,  to 
General  J.  M.  Street,  Indian  Agent  at  Prairie 
du  Chien.  Addressing  General  Street,  Black 
Hawk  made  the  following  speech,  which  ranks 
with  the  masterpieces  of  oratory: 

"You  have  taken  me  prisoner  with  all  my 
warriors.  I  am  much  grieved,  for  I  expected, 
if  I  did  not  defeat  you,  to  hold  out  much  longer, 
and  give  you  more  trouble  before  I  surren- 
dered. I  tried  hard  to  bring  you  into  ambush, 
but  your  last  general  understands  Indian  fight- 
ing. The  first  one  was  not  so  wise.  When  I  saw 
that  I  could  not  beat  you  by  Indian  fighting,  I 
determined  to  rush  on  you  and  fight  you  face 
to  face.  I  fought  hard.  But  your  guns  were 
well  aimed.  The  bullets  flew  like  birds  in  the 
air,  and  whizzed  by  our  ears  like  the  wind 
through  the  trees  in  the  winter.  My  warriors 
fell  around  me;  it  began  to  look  dismal.  I  saw 
my  evil  day  at  hand.  The  sun  rose  dim  on  us 
in  the  morning,  and  at  night  it  sunk  in  a  dark 
cloud  and  looked  like  a  ball  of  fire.  That  was 
the  last  sun  that  shone  on  Black  Hawk.  His 
heart  is  dead  and  no  longer  beats  quick  in  his 
bosom.  He  is  now  a  prisoner  to  the  white 
men ;  they  will  do  with  him  as  they  wish.  But 
he  can  stand  torture,  and  is  not  afraid  of  death. 
He  is  no  coward.    Black  Hawk  is  an  Indian. 

"He  has  done  nothing  for  which  an  Indian 
ought  to  be  ashamed.  He  has  fought  for  his 
countrymen,  the  squaws  and  papooses,  against 
white  men,  who  came,  year  after  year,  to  cheat 
them  and  take  away  their  lands.    You  know 


the  cause  of  our  making  war.  It  is  known  to 
all  white  men.  They  ought  to  be  ashamed  of  it. 
The  white  men  despise  the  Indians  and  drive 
them  from  their  homes.  But  the  Indians  are 
not  deceitful.  The  white  men  speak  bad  of  the 
Indian,  and  look  at  him  spitefully.  But  the 
Indian  does  not  tell  lies;   Indians  do  not  steal. 

"An  Indian  who  is  as  bad  as  the  white  men 
could  not  live  in  our  nation;  he  would  be  put 
to  death,  and  eat  up  by  the  wolves.  The  white 
men  are  bad  schoolmasters;  they  carry  false 
looks,  and  deal  in  false  actions;  they  smile  in 
the  face  of  the  poor  Indian  to  cheat  him;  they 
shake  them  by  the  hand  to  gain  their  confi- 
dence, to  make  them  drunk,  to  deceive  them, 
and  ruin  our  wives.  We  told  them  to  let  us 
alone,  and  keep  away  from  us;  but  they  fol- 
lowed on,  and  beset  our  paths,  and  they  coiled 
themselves  among  us,  like  the  snake.  They 
poisoned  us  by  their  touch.  We  were  not  safe. 
We  lived  in  danger.  We  were  becoming  like 
them,  hypocrites  and  liars,  adulterers,  lazy 
drones,  all  talkers  and  no  workers. 

"We  looked  up  to  the  Great  Spirit.  We  went 
to  our  great  father.  We  were  encouraged.  His 
great  council  gave  us  fair  words  and  big  prom- 
ises; but  we  got  no  satisfaction.  Things  were 
growing  worse.  There  were  no  deer  in  the 
forest.  The  opossum  and  beaver  were  fled; 
the  springs  were  drying  up,  and  our  squaws 
and  papooses  without  victuals  to  keep  them 
from  starving.  We  called  a  great  council,  and 
built  a  large  fire.  The  spirit  of  our  fathers  arose 
and  spoke  to  us  to  avenge  our  wrongs  or  die. 
We  all  spoke  before  the  council  fire.  It  was 
warm  and  pleasant.  We  set  up  the  war-whoop 
and  dug  up  the  tomahawk;  our  knives  were 
ready,  and  the  heart  of  Black  Hawk  swelled 
high  in  his  bosom  when  he  led  his  warriors  to 
battle.  He  is  satisfied.  He  will  go  to  the  world 
of  spirits  contented.  He  has  done  his  duty. 
His  father  will  meet  him  there  and  commend 
him. 


Black    Hawk's   Watch    Tower 


Page     Seventy-si 


"Black  Hawk  is  a  true  Indian,  and  disdains 
to  cry  like  a  woman.  He  feels  for  his  wife,  his 
children  and  friends.  But  he  does  not  care  for 
himself.  He  cares  for  his  nation  and  the  In- 
dians. They  will  suffer.  He  laments  their  fate. 
The  white  men  do  not  scalp  the  head;  but  they 
do  worse — they  poison  the  heart ;  it  is  not  pure 
with  them.  His  countrymen  will  not  be  scalped, 
but  they  will,  in  a  few  years,  become  like  the 
white  men,  so  that  you  can't  trust  them,  and 
there  must  be,  as  in  the  white  settlements,  near- 


ly as  many  officers  as  men  to  take  care  of  them 
and  keep  them  in  order. 

"Farewell,  my  nation!  Black  Hawk  tried  to 
save  you,  and  avenge  your  wrongs.  He  drank 
the  blood  of  some  of  the  whites.  He  has  been 
taken  prisoner,  and  his  plans  are  stopped.  He 
can  do  no  more.  He  is  near  his  end.  His  sun 
is  setting,  and  he  will  rise  no  more.  Farewell 
to  Black  Hawk!" 
(Copied  from  "Drake's  Indians  of  North  America,"  p.  657) 


I'  a  k  e     Seventy-seven 


Black    Hawk's    Watch    Tower 


Table  of  Contents 


Page 
Alarm,  Black  Hawk  War,   1832. 41 

American  History,  Watch  Tower  in 8 

Anderson,    Robert 68 

Balance  of  Power,    1  780 25 

Ball    Play   - 16 

Beginning  of  the  End,   1828 35 

Black  Hawk  and  Keokuk 10 

Black  Hawk,  the  Man 62 

Books  That  Tell  of  Black  Hawk  ...    60 

Campaign  of   1831 37 

Capital  of  a  Great  Nation.. 33 

Clark,  Gov.  William ----- 28 

Courtship  and  Marriage  14 

Counties,  Roll  Call  of,  in  Black  Hawk  War ...65 

Crosses  the  Mississippi,  Black  Hawk,   in    1832 42 

Davis,   Jefferson ...66 

Description  of  Sauk  Indians,  Peter  Pond 5 

Description  of  Sauk  Village,  by  Black  Hawk 6 

Description  of  Sauk  Village,  by  Major  Long... 4 

Disillusioned,  1832 45 

End  of  War,  at  Bax  Axe,    1832... 49 

Escape  of  Indians,    1831  38 

Faith,  Hope  and  Courage,    1832 43 

Final  Destruction  of  Village,   1831 39 

Fort  Armstrong,  Building  of,    1816 32 

French  and  Indian  War,    1760-61 20 

Gautier's  Letter,    1779 22 

Goose  Quill,  Black  Hawk  Touches,    1831. 41 

Hopeless  Cause,    1829-31   36 


Pase 
Indian  Trails  Centering  at  Black  Hawk's  Village. .2  7 

Johnston,  Albert  Sydney  70 

Johnston,  Joseph  E 72 

Keokuk  and  Black  Hawk  10 

Keokuk,   Mrs.   Mary  .48 

Le  Main  Cassee  22 

Lincoln,    Abraham 50 

Lovers'  Tragedy  at  Watch  Tower ...19 

Marriage — Courtship    14 

Mississippi,  Black  Hawk  Crosses 42 

Nah-pope   58 

Nah-se-us-kuk    59 

National  Dance 15 

Oration,  Black  Hawk  s 75 

Prisoners,  Indian  War,   1832  58 

Pro-American  Sauk  and  Fox,    1  779 22 

Results  of  Black  Hawk  War 63 

Revolutionary  War,  Watch  Tower  in 21 

Reynolds,    John   56 

Scott,  Winfield  55 

Sustenance,  Indians'  Means  of  7 

Target,  Watch  Tower  Four  Times  a 9 

Taylor,  Zachary  30 

Territory  for  Which  Black  Hawk  Fought 74 

War,    1812-14  29 

War,  Black  Hawk,   1832  41 

War,   Revolutionary  2  1 

Warfare  to  the  Bitter  Dregs 47 

Westernmost  Campaign  of  Revolutionary  War 26 


Black   Hawk's   Watch   Tower 


Page     S  e  v  e  n  t  y  -ei  g  h  t 


Index  to  Portraits 


Page 
Robert  Anderson  68 

Black  Hawk  10  and   13 

William  Clark 28 

Jefferson  Davis 66 

Albert  Sydney  Johnston 70 

Joseph  Eggleston  Johnston  72 

Keokuk    11   and   12 


Page 
Mrs.  Mary  Keokuk  48 

Abraham  Lincoln  50 

Nah-pope  ....58 

Nah-se-us-kuk    l 59 

John  Reynolds 5  7 

Winfield   Scott   55 

Zachary  Taylor   30 


Index  to 

Page 
Ball  Play,  by  Catlin  16 

Black  Hawks  Village  Site  in  May 6 

Boys  with  Indian  Remains  46 

Bracelet    35 

Camp  Fire  Girls  20 

Camp  of  Illinois  Volunteers 5  1 

Cornfield  of  Indians  7 

Creek  on  Watch  Tower  Tract 73 

Forest  on  Watch  Tower  Tract 41 

Fort  Armstrong  32 

Fox  Indian  at  Watch  Tower 63 

Good  Indian  Country  8 

Gautier's  Letter   23 

Heart  of  Sauk  Village  Site 39 

Indian  Lovers'  Spring  19 

Indian  Trail  at  Watch  Tower 29 

Map,  Country  for  which  Black  Hawk  Fought 74 

Map,   Indian  Trails  27 


Illustrations 

Page 
National  Dance,  by  Grafstrom 15 

Old  Settlers  Group  _ 34 

Relics  Found  on  Village  Site :.64 

Return  of  War  Party,  by  Catlin 31 

Rock  River 53 

Rock  Scenery  at  Watch  Tower 9 

Rotary  Club  at  Watch  Tower 21 

Sauk  and  Fox  at  Watch  Tower 5 

Sauk  and  Fox  were  Fighters,  by  Catlin 43 

Squaws  Play  Ball,  by  Catlin 18 

Tama  Indians  at  Watch  Tower 14 

Upper  End  of  Watch  Tower  Grounds 44 

Vandruff's  Island  37 

View  Down  Rock  River 3 

View  Up  Rock  River 60 

Wampum  Strands 45 

Watch  Tower  as  Seen  from  the  Bridge 4 

Watch  Tower  View,   Showing  Aledo- 

Monmouth   Road   33 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS-URBANA 

?H9E1^S^ATCHT0WCeT,N  THE  COUNTY 


3  0112  025343184 


